William Braine (1814 – 3 April 1846) was a British explorer. He served as a marine in the

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

. From 1845 he was part of an expedition to find the

Northwest Passage The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The eastern route along the Arct ...

, but he died early in the trip and was buried on Beechey Island. His preserved body was exhumed in 1984, to try to determine the cause of death.

Early life

William Braine was born in

Oakhill Oakhill is a village in the Mendip district of Somerset, England, in Ashwick parish approximately north of Shepton Mallet. It lies between the A37 and the A367 (which is part of the ancient Fosse Way). Oakhill is today is mainly a commuter ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

in 1814, and enlisted in the Royal Marines during the 1830s. He was assigned to

HMS Erebus Five ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS ''Erebus'' after Erebus, the dark region of Hades in Greek Mythology. * was a rocket vessel launched in 1807, converted to an 18-gun sloop in 1808, to a fire ship in 1809, and to a 24-gun post shi ...

during

Franklin's Lost Expedition Franklin's lost expedition was a failed British voyage of Arctic exploration led by Captain Sir John Franklin that departed England in 1845 aboard two ships, and , and was assigned to traverse the last unnavigated sections of the Northwest ...

1845 Franklin expedition

Braine was a part of Sir John Franklin's final expedition to find the Northwest Passage. The trip was expected to last about three years, so the ships were packed with provisions which included more than 136,000 pounds of flour, 3,684 gallons of high-proof alcohol and 33,000 pounds of tinned meat, soup and vegetables.

Death

Braine died ten months into the expedition, and was buried on

Beechey Island Beechey Island ( iu, Iluvialuit, script=Latn) is an island located in the Arctic Archipelago of Nunavut, Canada, in Wellington Channel. It is separated from the southwest corner of Devon Island by Barrow Strait. Other features include Wellington C ...

with John Torrington and

John Hartnell John Hartnell ( – 4 January 1846) was an English seaman who took part in Sir John Franklin's Northwest Passage expedition and was one of its first casualties, dying of suspected zinc deficiency and malnourishment during the expedition's f ...

. He died last, and his corpse was in the worst condition, having been gnawed by rats before burial. Modern postmortem examinations suggested symptoms of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

and

lead poisoning Lead poisoning, also known as plumbism and saturnism, is a type of metal poisoning caused by lead in the body. The brain is the most sensitive. Symptoms may include abdominal pain, constipation, headaches, irritability, memory problems, inferti ...

. However, other studies suggest tuberculosis was unlikely to have contributed to his death.

Early life

1845 Franklin expedition

Death

References

Further reading