A, 



.lthough the island South Georgia is said to have been discovered and even named 

 before, its history of investigation rightly dates from 1775 when Cook rediscovered 

 it and gave it the name under which it has from that time been known. Messrs 

 Forster, father and son, and Dr. Sparrman, who accompanied Cook, gave also the 

 first notes concerning the animal and plant life of this island. The animal life was 

 certainly then very much richer than it is now, but the whole island seemed to Sparr- 

 man so barren and dreary that he wrote in his diary ■ — »this island (31 Leagues 

 long and 10 broad and of less value than the smallest farm in England) was called 

 Georgia». — — — — 



Af ter Cook the sealers came who from 1800 and onward searched the island 

 for fur-seal which they exterminated and in return gave — råts. 



Von Bellinghausen made in the year 1819 a new map of the island. 



Weddell widened in the year 1823 the knowledge about the fauna of antarctic 

 regions inclusive South Georgia. 



Then followed a long period during which the island seemed to be forgotten 

 except by sealers and whalers who now and then made, or tried to make a raid on 

 the unfortunate fur-seals, which, however, had rapidly diminished and soon disappeared, 

 the »sea-elephant» had then to pay a heavy tribute of blubber to defray the costs. 



Kltttschak accompanied 1877 — 78 a vessel due on such errands, and after his 

 return to Europé communicated some notes about South Georgia (1881). 



In the years 1882 — 83 a great German Expedition stayed on the island about a 

 year and made thorough researches in the dominions of different sciences. Thanks 

 to this expedition we have a fair idea about the climatic conditions of this island 

 as good as it can be from observations during one year. Zoological and botanical 

 collections and biological observations were made as well. 



During the first part of the antarctic winter 1902 the Swedish Antarctic Ex- 

 pedition visited South Georgia and made very valuable zoological collections. When 

 this expedition had returned to Europé Captain C. A. Larsen determined to estab- 

 lish a whaling station on South Georgia as he, during his repeated voyages in ant- 

 arctic waters, had come to the conclusiön that such an establishment with modern 



