Jarvis Island, island, 1.7 sq mi (4.4 sq km), central Pacific, one of the Line Islands, just south of the equator and c.1,300 mi (2,090 km) S of Honolulu. Known to British and American mariners, it was claimed in 1856 by the United States along with Howland Island and Baker Island but was annexed by Great Britain in 1889. American colonists were brought to Jarvis in 1935; the following year the island was placed under the U.S. Dept. of the Interior. Jarvis is now uninhabited.