1800 - joined the Polyphemus as a first-class volunteer in the Royal Navy. 1805 - saw action at the battle of Trafalgar aboard the Bellerophon. 1808 - promoted to lieutenant. 1814 - sailed for New Orleans aboard the Bedford. 1818 - as captain of the small brig, Trent, set off under Commander John Buchan, aiming to cross the Arctic Ocean, searching for the North-West Passage. This expedition failed. 1819 - set off in search of the North-West Passage again, starting from Hudson Bay. 1822 - after three years of hardship and privation, returned to London a hero. 1826 - another Arctic expedition mounted leaving from New York. 1830 - given command of the frigate Rainbow, and stationed in the Mediterranean during the Greek War of Independence. 1836 - offered and accepted the lieutenant-governorship of Van Diemen's Land. 1843 - left Hobart following an unsuccessful and at worst disastrous appointment. 1845 - offered to lead an expedition to sail the final 300 mile stretch of the north-West Passage. 1847 - according to his second in command in a letter found in 1859, Franklin died in June. 1852 - promoted to rear-admiral.