Sir Leopold McClintock

A memorial to Arctic explorer Admiral Sir Leopold McClintock was unveiled in 1908 beneath the monument to Sir John Franklin in the chapel of St John the Evangelist in Westminster Abbey. It consists of a rectangular alabaster tablet and was made by Messrs Farmer & Brindley. The inscription reads:

Here also is commemorated Admiral Sir Leopold McClintock 1819-1907, discoverer of the fate of Franklin in 1859.

He was born at Dundalk on 8th July 1819, a son of Henry and Elizabeth (Fleury). He joined the navy and served in the Pacific. In 1848 he took a voyage to the Arctic and established his reputation as an explorer, making many sledge trips. He later commanded a ship on a further expedition to the Arctic and Cape Leopold McClintock is named after him. In 1870 he married Annette Dunlop and their son John also served in the navy. Lady Franklin employed him to search for her missing husband in Canada and the expedition found Sir John and his men had perished. Leopold died on 17th November 1907 and is buried at Hanwell cemetery in Middlesex.

Further reading

"Life of Admiral Sir Leopold McClintock" by C. Markham, 1909

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography 2004