Leopold McClintock

Admiral Sir Francis Leopold McClintock (8 July 1819 – 17 November 1907) was an Irish explorer in the British Royal Navy, known for his discoveries in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. He confirmed explorer John Rae's controversial report gathered from Inuit sources on the fate of Franklin's lost expedition, the ill-fated Royal Navy undertaking commanded by Sir John Franklin in 1845 attempting to be the first to traverse the Northwest Passage.

McClintock's report was received more favorably than that of Rae, who was shunned and denied recognition for having discovered the lost expedition's fate. Rae's report ultimately guided McClintock to the correct area to conduct a search. McClintock also stirred controversy with his claim that Franklin, before his death, had essentially discovered the Northwest Passage, while in reality he had not. Rae, with his discovery of Rae Strait, had discovered the real ice-free passage through North America's Arctic archipelago.

Early life McClintock was born on 8 July 1819, one of 14 children of Henry McClintock, a collector of customs at Dundalk in County Louth, Ireland, and his wife Elizabeth Melesina . He was the second oldest son, although the eldest died somewhere in the Caribbean, aged over 40.

The family was well connected; McClintock's uncle, John McClintock, was a Member of Parliament for County Louth and owned Drumcar House.

Arctic exploration In July 1831, aged just 12 years old, he joined HMS Samarang at Portsmouth, as a Gentleman Volunteer. The Captain was Capt. Charles Paget (who would later marry one of his sisters, Emily Caroline) and the Lieutenant was a relation, William McClintock-Bunbury, whose son Thomas later became 2nd Lord Rathdonnell . In 1843 he passed his examination for lieutenancy and joined the steamship HMS Gorgon, which was driven ashore at Montevideo and salvaged, a feat of seamanship on the part of her captain and officers that attracted much attention. Hitherto, until 1847, McClintock's service was almost wholly on the American coasts.

McClintock joined a series of searches for Sir John Franklin between 1848 and 1859. He mastered travel through the manhauling of sledges, which remained the standard practice when it came to overland travel in icy territory in the Royal Navy, until the death of Robert Falcon Scott in his bid to reach the South Pole in 1912.

In 1848, McClintock accompanied James Clark Ross on his survey of Somerset Island. As part of Captain Henry Kellett's expedition from 1852 to 1854, McClintock travelled by sled and discovered of previously unknown coastline.

Fate of Franklin's expedition

Later life In 1865 McClintock was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. From 1865 to 1868, he was appointed Commodore Jamaica Division, and he superintended Jamaica Dockyard. From 1872 to 1877, McClintock was admiral-superintendent of Portsmouth Dockyard. In 1879, he was appointed commander-in-chief of the North America and West Indies Station aboard the flagship . McClintock retired from the Royal Navy in 1884 as a rear admiral. In 1882 he was elected an Elder Brother of Trinity House, and served actively in that capacity. He died on 17 November 1907 and was buried at Kensington Cemetery.

Family McClintock unsuccessfully contested a seat in parliament for the borough of Drogheda, but while there he made the acquaintance of Annette Delap, (later changed to Dunlop) and married her in 1870. She was the daughter of Robert Foster Delap (1809–1875) and Hon. Anna Elizabeth Foster (later Skeffington) 1817-1901. Robert Foster Delap's father, William Drummond Delap, changed their surname to Dunlop in 1861 by Special Licence.There were five children, including: Henry Foster McClintock, (1871–1959) John William Leopold McClintock (1874–1929), Vice-Admiral, RN Col. Robert S. McClintock. CMG, DSO (1876–1967), who married Mary Elphinstone, the youngest daughter of Major General Sir Howard Craufurd Elphinstone. Anna Elizabeth McClintock, (1873–1957) who married in 1902 Sir Bernard Eyre Greenwell, 2nd Baronet. Elizabeth Florence Mary (Bessie) (1882–1913) died unmarried.