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In September, Ferdinand Magellan sails from Spain in search of a westerly route to the Indies. Sailing down the coast of South America he discovered the narrow straight passing through to the Pacific Ocean which today bears his name.
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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, Bellingshausen returns to the Antarctic waters and discovers Peter I Island and the Alexander Islands. He completes a circumnavigation of Antarctica being only the second explorer, after Cook, to do so.
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In January, Bellingshausen returns to the Antarctic waters and discovers Peter I Island and the Alexander Islands. He completes a circumnavigation of Antarctica being only the second explorer, after Cook, to do so.
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In January, Edgeworth David, Douglas Mawson and Alistair McKay reach the South Magnetic Pole
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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.
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