Francis Crozier

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Francis Rawdon Moira Crozier (September 1796–1848) was an Irish-born British naval officer who participated in several exploratory expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic.

He was born in Banbridge, County Down, Ireland, the fifth son of the attorney-at-law George Crozier Esq. At the age of thirteen he volunteered for the Royal Navy, serving on the HMS Hamadryad and other vessels. He became a midshipman two years later on the HMS Briton. In 1814 an expedition of this vessel discovered Pitcairn Island.

In 1818 he was the mate of the sloop Doterel during a trip to the Cape of Good Hope. From 1821 until 1827 he served under Captain Sir William Edward Parry on his Arctic voyages, attaining rank of lieutenant in 1826. From 1831 until 1835 he served off Portugal.

He became first lieutenant and second in command under Sir James Clark Ross. In 1839 he sailed with Ross on an exploration of the Antarctic ocean, for the British Antarctic Expedition. From 1840 until 1843 he was in command of the HMS Terror.

In 1845 he joined Sir John Franklin on the Northwest Passage Expedition as captain of the HMS Terror. Following Franklin's death in June, 1847 he took command of the expedition. He perished in the Arctic region in 1848, and his fate remained a mystery until his record was discovered in 1859 by Captain F. L. McClintock.

Crozier Island in the Arctic Kennedy Channel is named after him, as was Cape Crozier on King William Island and Crozier crater on the Moon. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society and Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society.

External links

[Crozier Banbridge] — Graigavon Historical Society

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