DNA Test Identifies Member of 1845 Arctic Voyage

A member of a doomed 1845 Arctic voyage has been identified by researchers who matched his DNA with that of a living descendant from South Africa, according to the BBC. Tests confirmed skeletal remains recovered from an island in northern Canada were those of John Gregory.

The officer is one of 26 crew members whose remains have been extracted from nine archaeological sites in northern Canada. Bone and tooth samples from Gregory's remains were recovered from King William Island, Nunavut in 2013.

Gregory was an officer on British explorer Sir John Franklin's ill-fated expedition to chart the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic. The expedition was a disaster, ending in the deaths of all 129 crew members.

Researchers from the University of Waterloo, Lakehead University, and Trent University say Gregory is the first member of the expedition to be positively identified through DNA.