GEOGRAPHIC NAMES OF ANTARCTICA 



List of Expeditions 



1675. British expedition. 



Leader: Antonio de la Roche. Ships: Unknown. 

 Summary : Two commercial vessels returning from 

 Peru via Cape Horn in April were blown eastward 

 from their course and sighted snow-covered land, 

 now believed to be South Georgia, in 55'S. The 

 ships were forced by a storm to anchor there two 

 weeks. 



1738-39. French expedition. 



Leader: J. B. C. Bouvet de Lozier. Ships: Aigle 



and Marie. 



Summary: Discovered Bouvetoya on January 1, 



1739. Ships stayed near the island 12 days but ice 



and fog prevented a landing. Then cruised east 



along edge of pack to 38'E. before turning north on 



January 25. 



1756. Spanish expedition. 



Leader: Unknown. Ship: Leon. 



Summary: Sighted and circumnavigated South 



Georgia. Knowledge of expedition based upon 



narrative by passenger Ducloz Guyot. 



1772-75. British expedition. 



Leader: Capt. James Cook. Ships: Resolution and 

 Adventure. 



Summary: Sponsored by the British Admiralty. 

 A circumnavigation was made south of 50 'S., ex- 

 cept for the area south of New Zealand. Pene- 

 trated south of Antarctic Circle three times. 

 Roughly charted the north coast of South Georgia, 

 making the first known landing there near Posses- 

 sion Bay. Discovered that part of the South Sand- 

 wich Islands southward of the Traverse Islands 

 and roughly charted them. Cook's voyage dis- 

 proved existence of a "Terra Australis" in latitudes 

 north of 60 'S. and thus profoundly modified con- 

 cepts on which subsequent exploration was based. 

 Farthest south reported, 71'10'S., 106=54'W., Janu- 

 ary 30, 1774. 



1800. United States sealing expeditions. 

 Leaders: Various. Ships: Various. 

 Summary: Documentary evidence of sealing oper- 

 ations in south Pacific and Atlantic Oceans exists, 

 but desire for secrecy resulted in few contemporary 

 announcements. Known records too scanty to re- 

 construct actual routes. 



1808. British whaling expedition. 



Leaders: Captains James Lindsay and Thomas 

 Hopper. Ships: Snow Swan and Otter. 



Summary: Lindsay in the Enderby whaler Snow 

 Swan sighted Bouvetdya October 6; Hopper in 

 Otter sighted the island October 10. Attempts to 

 land were imsuccessful. 



1819. British expedition. 



Leader : Capt. William Smith. Ship : Williams. 

 Summary: Discovered South Shetland Islands on 

 commercial voyage from Buenos Aires to Valpa- 

 raiso, February 1819. Confirmed discovery in Oc- 

 tober by second voyage. Landed on King George 

 Island on October 16. 



1819-20. Argentine sealing expedition. 



Leader: Capt. Carlos Timblon. Ship: San Juan 



Nepomuceno. 



Summary: First ship known to have taken fur 



seals in the South Shetland Islands. 



1819-20. British sealing expedition. 

 Leader: Unknown. Ship: Espirito Santo. 

 SuMrviARY : Set out from Buenos Aires. Met Capt. 

 Nathaniel B. Palmer in Falkland Islands and later 

 in South Shetland Islands. 



1819-20. United States sealing expedition. 

 Leader: Capt. James P. SheflBeld. Ship: Hersilia. 

 Summary: Sponsored by Edmund Fanning, WU- 

 ham A. Fanning and others. Hunted seals in 

 South Shetland Islands. Met British in the 

 Espirito Santo. 



1819-20. British expedition. 



Leader: Edward Bransfield, Master, RN. Ship: 

 Williams. 



Summary: Roughly charted South Shetland Is- 

 lands. Sailed through Bransfield Strait, reported 

 sighting land to the south. 



1819-21. Russian expedition. 

 Leader: Capt. Thaddeus Bellingshausen. Ships: 

 Vostok and Mirnyy. 



SuMiMARY : Sponsored by Alexander I and Russian 

 Navy. Made a circumnavigation, mostly south of 

 60'S., but no claims were made to have actually 

 sighted the mainland. Discovered Traverse Is- 

 lands, Peter I Island, and Alexander I Island. 

 Bellingshausen made fairly accurate charts of the 

 South Shetland and South Sandwich Islands, and 

 was first to chart the south coast of South Georgia. 



11 



