John Davis (sealer)
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For other people named John Davis, see John Davis (disambiguation).
| John Davis | |
|---|---|
| Born | John Davis 1784 Surrey, England |
| Nationality | Anglo-American |
| Occupation | Seal hunter |
| Known for | Debated as the first man on the Antarctic |
| Home town | Connecticut, USA |
Captain John Davis (born in 1784 in Surrey, England) was a seal hunter from Connecticut, USA[1] who captained men who may have been the first to have set foot on Antarctica on 7 February 1821 shortly after the first sightings of the new continent by Fabian von Bellingshausen, Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev, Edward Bransfield and Nathaniel Palmer.
Contents |
[edit] Antarctic claim
Some of Davis's from the American sealing ship, Cecilia, may have landed at Hughes Bay (64°01'S) looking for seals for less than an hour. The ships logbook entry reads:
| “ | Commences with open Cloudy Weather and Light winds a standing for a Large Body of Land in that Direction SE at 10A.M. close in with it our Boat and Sent her on Shore to look for Seal at 11A.M. the Boat returned but find no sign of Seal at noon our Latitude was 64°01’ South Stood up a Large Bay, the Land high and covered intirely [sic] with snow the wind coming Round to the North & Eastward with Thick weather Tacked ship and headed off Shore. At 4P.M. fresh Gale and Thick weather with snow…Ends with Strong Gales at ENE Concluded to make the Best of our way for the Ship I think this Southern Land to be a Continent. | ” |
[2][3] These men were the first recorded humans to have claimed to have set foot on the newly discovered continent of Antarctica.[4][5]
[edit] Legacy
The coastal strip where the men were alleged to have gone ashore is called Davis Coast.
[edit] See also
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ "The first landing on the mainland of Antarctica". Australian Antarctic Data Centre. http://data.aad.gov.au/aadc/events/display_event.cfm?event_id=32. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
- ^ "Unconfirmed Landing". Thinkquest. http://library.thinkquest.org/26442/html/explore/first_landings.html. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
- ^ "The Voyage of the Huron and The Huntress", Edourd A. Stackpole, 1955
- ^ "Introduction". Antarcticaonline. Archived from the original on 2008-05-23. http://web.archive.org/web/20080523193536/http://www.antarcticaonline.com/antarctica/history/history.htm. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
- ^ "One small step for man...". 70south. http://www.70south.com/information/antarctic-history/chapter-by-chapter/chapter5. Retrieved 2008-09-16.[dead link]
