Nathaniel Brown Palmer (1799-1877), American sea captain, sighted the part of the Antarctic Peninsula that came to be known as Palmer Land. In later life he engaged in designing and sailing clipper ships for the China trade.

Nathaniel Palmer was born on Aug. 8, 1799, in Stonington, Conn., the son of a shipyard owner. At the age of 14 he became a seaman on a blockade-runner in the War of 1812. After captaining small coastal vessels, he signed on in 1818 as second mate of a sealing brig that hunted in the newly discovered South Shetland Islands.

In July 1820 Palmer, commanding the 47-foot sloop Hero, joined a sealing fleet of five vessels under the command of Benjamin Pendleton. The expedition reached the South Shetlands in November, and Palmer left Deception Island on November 17 to search for seal rookeries that had been seen to the south. He sighted extensive land at 63°S but...