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In January, Captain James Cook and his crew become the first men to cross the Antarctic Circle.
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In January, Captain Cook, on his third voyage, sails past South Georgia and discovers the South Sandwich Islands two weeks later.
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In July, Australian Frederick Hasselborough discovers Macquarie Island while searching for new sealing grounds.
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In February, Englishman William Smith is blown to the south while rounding Cape Horn and discovers the South Shetland Islands, claiming them for Great Britain in October.
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In January, the Royal Navy sends Edward Bransfield, with Smith as pilot, to search the waters southeast of the newly claimed South Shetlands. As a result, it is claimed that he is the first to see the Antarctic Peninsula.
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In January, Russian Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen becomes the first person to see the Antarctic continent.
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In February, American sealer John Davis arguably becomes the first person to land on the continent. From Connecticut, Davis had been searching the South Shetlands for seals.
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1892: In November, Captain Carl Larsen of the JASON lands near the Antarctic Peninsula on Seymour Island. Discovering a number of fossils, this becomes the first evidence of a prior warmer climate.
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In January, Henryk Bull lands in the Antarctic at Cape Adare. A member of the party, Carsten Borchgrevink, finds lichen on an offshore island becoming the first signs of plant life.
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In February, Carsten Borchgrevink and crew of the SOUTHERN CROSS land at Cape Adare. They build huts and become the first to live over on the continent.
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In January, OPERATION HIGHJUMP is organized by the US Navy. A total of 4700 men, 13 ships and 23 aircraft are involved. A base is set up at Little America. Extensive mapping of the coast and interior is accomplished. Over 70,000 aerial photographs are taken.
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In December, the twelve leading nations participating in the IGY sign the "Antarctic Treaty" in Washington, DC. The treaty was framed as an agreement so the continent "shall continue forever to be used exclusively for peaceful purposes". The treaty came into effect in 1961 and guarantees access and scientific research in all territory south of 60° latitude.
