DNA Analysis Identifies Remains of Captain Fitzjames, Cannibalism Victim from Doomed Arctic Expedition

A new DNA analysis has confirmed the remains of Captain James Fitzjames, a Royal Navy officer who perished on the tragic 1845 Franklin expedition to the Northwest Passage. The identification, made possible by matching DNA from a tooth to a living relative, sheds light on the gruesome realities of the expedition’s final days. The analysis also confirms that Fitzjames was a victim of cannibalism, a grim practice resorted to by the starving survivors.

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