Science Fact Finder | The Earth - Who Was The First Person On Antarctica?

Who was the first person on Antarctica?

Historians are unsure who first set foot on Antarctica. Antarctica is the fifth largest continent, covering 10 percent of the Earth's surface with its area of 5.4 million square miles (14 million square kilometers).

Between 1773 and 1775 British captain James Cook (1728-1779) sailed around the circumference (boundary) of the continent. American explorer Nathaniel Palmer (1799-1877) discovered Palmer Peninsula in 1820, without realizing that it was attached to the Antarctic continent. In the same year Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen (1779-1852) sighted the Antarctic continent.

American sealer John Davis went ashore at Hughes Bay on February 7, 1821. In 1823, sealer James Weddell (1787-1834) traveled the farthest south across Antarctica (74 degrees south) than anyone had until that time and entered what is now called the Weddell Sea. In 1840, American Charles Wilkes...

Join eNotes

The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the:

eNotes Pass