John Davis (sealer)

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Captain John Davis (*1784 in Surrey, England) was a seal hunter from Connecticut, USA who claimed to have set foot on Antarctica on February 7, 1821 shortly after the first sightings of the new continent by Fabian von Bellingshausen, Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev, Edward Bransfield and Nathaniel Palmer.

Davis and his crew from the American sealing ship, Cecilia, claim to have landed at Hughes Bay (64°01'S) looking for seals for less than an hour. The ships logbook entry reads:

These men were the first recorded humans to have claimed to have set foot on the new continent of Antarctica. However, modern historians are doubtful as to his claim.

The Davis Sea, part of the Southern Ocean, was named after him. Also, the coastal strip where the men were alleged to have gone ashore is called Davis Coast.

John Davis (sealer)

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