1799 - Nathaniel Palmer

Nathaniel B. Palmer, an American sea captain and Antarctic explorer, was born in Stonington, Connecticut (August 8).

Nathaniel Brown Palmer (b. August 8, 1799, Stonington, Connecticut, United States — d. June 21, 1877, San Francisco, California), was an American sea captain and explorer after whom Palmer Land, a stretch of western Antarctic coast and islands, is named.

Palmer went to sea at the age of 14. He served first as a sailor on a blockade runner in the War of 1812 He later became a sealer, and his South Sea explorations were largely stimulated by the desire to locate new seal rookeries. Becoming captain of the schooner Galina in 1818, Palmer began explorations of the Cape Horn region and western Antarctic the following year. In 1820 he reported a landfall on the coast of Antarctica, which he called Palmer Land. Whether he was the first person to view Antarctica is controversial because Russian explorer Fabien Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and English explorer Edward Bransfield also claimed to have been the first to sight it in 1820. On these and subsequent voyages, Palmer discovered the Gerlache Strait and Orleans Channel in Antarctica as well as the South Orkney Islands.

From 1822 to 1826 he engaged in trade on the Spanish Main and helped to transport troops and supplies to Simón Bolívar during the war of South American independence. Throughout much of his career Palmer displayed a keen interest in shipbuilding and helped to design packets (passenger boats), pleasure yachts, and clipper ships.

After concluding a successful sealing career, Palmer, still in the prime of life, switched his attention to the captaining of fast sailing ships for the transportation of express freight. In 1843, Captain Palmer took command of the Paul Jones on her maiden voyage from Boston to Hong Kong, arriving in 111 days. In this new role, the Connecticut captain traveled many of the world's principal sailing routes. Observing the strengths and weaknesses of the ocean-going sailing ships of his time, Palmer suggested and designed improvements to their hulls and rigging. The improvements made Palmer a co-developer of the mid-19th century clipper ship.

Palmer closed his sailing career and established himself in his hometown of Stonington as a successful owner of clipper ships sailed by others. He died in 1877, at the age of 78.

Palmer Land, part of the Antarctic Peninsula, as well as the Palmer Archipelago, were named in honor for Nathaniel Palmer.

The Antarctic science and research program operated by the United States government continues to recall Palmer's role in the exploration of the Antarctic area. Palmer Station, located in the seal islands that Palmer explored, the clipper ship N.B. Palmer (built by Jacob Aaron Westervelt) and the Antarctic icebreaker RV Nathaniel B. Palmer are named after Captain Palmer.

Hero Bay, in the South Shetland Islands, is named for Captain Palmer's sloop Hero, one of the vessels of the Pendleton sealing fleet from Stonington which visited the islands in 1820-21.