Nathaniel Brown Palmer

Nathaniel Brown Palmer (1799-1877), sea captain, explorer, and reputed discoverer of the Antarctic continent, born in Stonington, Connecticut. Between 1819 and 1831 he made seven voyages to the region of Cape Horn and the South Shetland and South Orkney islands on seal-hunting ventures. On the second of these, Palmer, only 21, but master of the 14-m (47-ft) sloop Hero, sighted the mainland of Antarctica as he searched for seals south of the usual hunting territory. The land he discovered was later named Palmer Land by the Russian admiral Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen, who was exploring in the area at the time. While the area is now called the Antarctic Peninsula, the southern part is still called Palmer Land. On this and later voyages, Palmer discovered Anvers, Biscoe, and Adelaide islands and farther stretches of the mainland.