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作者：克里·布林 新闻编辑
克里·布林是CBSNews.com的新闻编辑，毕业于纽约大学阿瑟·L·卡特新闻学院，此前曾在NBC新闻《今日数字》工作，负责报道时事、突发新闻以及包括药物滥用在内的相关议题。
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研究人员表示，他们已确认1845年一场致命极地探险中遇难的129名水手当中4人的身份，解决了长期以来关于该探险队中一名男子身份的争议。
埃里布斯号和恐怖号两艘 HMS 战舰于1845年从英国启航。此次任务由约翰·富兰克林爵士船长带队，即著名的富兰克林探险队，目标是绘制环绕北美顶端的航道图。
据伦敦格林威治皇家博物馆介绍，两艘船在北极冰层中被困了近两年。尽管1848年4月曾拼死尝试突围，但所有参与探险的人员均已遇难，这是英国极地探险史上最严重的灾难。他们最后几天的细节仍然不明。两艘船如今都沉没在加拿大近海。
研究人员已发现水手的遗骸以及沉船遗址的文物。滑铁卢大学艺术学院和湖首大学的人类学家从与该探险队相关的考古样本中提取了DNA。滑铁卢大学在一份新闻稿中表示，研究人员将这些样本与已知的探险队船员在世后代捐赠的DNA进行了比对。
通过这一过程，他们确认了4名水手的身份。其中3人—— able seaman（一等水手）威廉·奥伦、少年班学员大卫·杨以及下级军官管家约翰·布里真斯——曾在埃里布斯号上服役。法医面部重建还原了大卫·杨去世时可能的样貌。关于他们身份确认的更多细节，以及遗骸位置可能揭示的遇难原因，已发表在《考古科学杂志》上。
第四名水手来自恐怖号。据该校介绍，他的遗骸被发现的地点距离埃里布斯号船员的遗骸约80英里。经确认，该遗骸属于恐怖号前桅甲板水手长哈里·佩格莱尔。
佩格莱尔长期以来一直笼罩在谜团中：1859年，研究人员发现了包括佩格莱尔个人文件在内的人类遗骸，但该水手所穿衣服却是一名管家的制服，而非佩格莱尔的军衔。该校表示，这些文件包括一份证书、诗歌以及对探险队部分事件的描述。这种不一致性引发了数十年来关于该尸体身份的争论。
最新研究证实，这些遗骸确实属于佩格莱尔。除了找到佩格莱尔的一位近亲外，研究人员还对多名已知管家的遗骸进行了检测，排除了他们是该尸体主人的可能性。
“能够最终确认这名水手的身份非常有意义，因为这具尸体是探险队迄今发现的几乎唯一带有书面文件的遗骸，”滑铁卢大学人类学教授、该研究项目负责人之一罗伯特·帕克博士说道。佩格莱尔的遗骸是目前确认的唯一一具来自恐怖号的船员遗骸。
但研究人员在发表于学术期刊《极地记录》的论文中指出，关于这些遗骸的疑问仍然存在。目前尚不清楚佩格莱尔为何身着管家的制服，尤其是当时船员们有大量备用衣物。研究人员表示，他可能曾被降职，但降职原因仍是未解之谜。同样不清楚的是，为何他的遗骸是单独被发现的，且距离其他船员的遗体如此之远。
此次探险中遇难的129名水手，目前已有6人的身份得到确认。2021年，研究人员确认一具遗骸属于埃里布斯号工程师约翰·格雷戈里；2024年，他们确认另一具遗骸属于埃里布斯号船长詹姆斯·菲茨詹姆斯。该校表示，菲茨詹姆斯的遗骸上有食人行为的痕迹。新确认的遗骸上未发现类似证据。
研究人员称，这些发现帮助他们进一步了解了探险队的最后时日。滑铁卢大学鼓励探险队船员的其他已知后代向研究人员提供DNA，以便取得更多发现。
“对于在世的后代来说，这些发现提供了此前无法获取的细节，包括他们亲属死亡的环境和地点，以及与他们一同遇难的部分船友的身份，”滑铁卢大学人类学兼职助理教授、该研究项目负责人之一道格拉斯·斯坦顿博士说道。
4 sailors from doomed 1845 polar expedition that killed 129 men identified through DNA
May 14, 2026 / 10:01 AM EDT / CBS News
By Kerry Breen News Editor
Kerry Breen is a news editor at CBSNews.com. A graduate of New York University’s Arthur L. Carter School of Journalism, she previously worked at NBC News’ TODAY Digital. She covers current events, breaking news and issues including substance use.
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Researchers say they have identified four sailors who were among 129 who died during a fatal polar expedition in 1845, resolving a decades-long debate about the identity of one of the men on the mission.
The HMS Erebus and HMS Terror launched from England in 1845. The mission, led by Captain Sir John Franklin and called the Franklin Expedition, was meant to chart a passage around the top of North America.
The ships spent nearly two years trapped in Arctic ice. Despite desperate attempts to escape in April 1848, every man who participated in the expedition died, marking the worst disaster in the history of British polar exploration, according to London’s Royal Museums Greenwich. Details of their final days remain murky. Both ships are now sunk off the coast of Canada.
Researchers have found remains of the sailors, as well as artifacts from the shipwrecks. To make the latest discovery, anthropologists at the Faculty of Arts at the University of Waterloo and Lakehead University extracted DNA from archaeological samples associated with the expedition. Those samples were compared to DNA donated by those known to be living descendents of the men aboard the expedition, the University of Waterloo said in a news release.
The process allowed them to identify four of the sailors. Three — able seaman William Orren, Boy 1st Class David Young and subordinate officers’ steward John Bridgens — had been aboard the HMS Erebus. Forensic facial reconstruction shows what Young may have looked like at the time of his death. More details about their identification and what the location of their remains might indicate about how they died were published in the Journal of Archaeological Science.
A forensic facial reconstruction of David Young, Boy 1st Class on the HMS Erebus. died at Erebus Bay. Diana Trepkov / University of Waterloo
The fourth sailor was from the HMS Terror. His remains were found about 80 miles from those who had sailed on the Erebus, the university said. The remains were identified as those of Harry Peglar, the captain of the foretop on the ship.
Peglar has long been shrouded in mystery: In 1859, researchers found human remains that included Peglar’s personal documents, but the clothes the sailor had been wearing were those of a steward, which was not Peglar’s rank. The papers include a certification, poetry and apparent descriptions of some expedition events, the university said. The inconsistencies sparked decades of debate about who the body belonged to.
The latest research confirmed those remains were Peglar’s, the university said. In addition to finding a close genetic relative of Peglar’s, the researchers were able to test the remains of multiple known stewards and eliminate them as possible identities.
“It was interesting to conclusively identify this sailor because the body was found with almost the only written documents from the expedition ever found,” said Dr. Robert Park, professor of anthropology at the University of Waterloo and one of the leaders of the research project. Peglar’s remains are the only set from the HMS Terror to be identified.
But questions about the remains still linger, the researchers noted in a paper published in the academic journal Polar Record. It’s not clear why Peglar was dressed in a steward’s uniform, especially since the sailors had a large pile of spare clothing. He may have been demoted, but it’s a mystery as to why, the researchers said. It’s also unclear why his remains were found alone, and so far from where other bodies were located.
An anonymous engraving from 1845 shows the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror leaving England for the Northwest Passage. Pictures from History/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Six of the 129 sailors who died in the expedition have now been identified. In 2021, researchers identified a set of remains as belonging to Erebus engineer John Gregory, and in 2024, they found another set were those of Erebus captain James Fitzjames. Fitzjames’ remains showed evidence of cannibalism, the university said. Similar evidence was not found on the newly identified remains.
The researchers said that the discoveries have helped them learn more about the final days of the expedition. The University of Waterloo encouraged other known descendants of the expedition crew to share their DNA with researchers so more discoveries can be made.
“For the living descendants, these findings provide previously unavailable details regarding the circumstances and locations of their relatives’ deaths, as well as the identities of some of the shipmates who died with them,” said Dr. Douglas Stenton, an adjunct assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Waterloo and one of the leaders of the research project.
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