Pre-19th Century
- 7th Century Ui-te-Rangiora claimed to have sighted southern ice fields.
- 13th C. Polynesians settle Auckland Islands (50° S)
- 1522 Ferdinand Magellan – first circumnavigation discovers Strait of Magellan (54° S)
- 1578 Francis Drake discovers Drake Passage
- 1599 Dirk Gerritsz – potentially sails to (64° S)
- 1603 Gabriel de Castilla – potentially sails to (64° S)
- 1615 Jacob le Maire and Willem Schouten first to sail around Cape Horn cross (56° S)
- 1619 Garcia de Nodal expedition – circumnavigate Tierra del Fuego and discover Diego Ramirez Islands (56°30′S 68°43′W / 56.5°S 68.717°W / -56.5; -68.717)
- 1675 Anthony de la Roché discovers South Georgia (54°15′00″S 36°45′00″W / 54.25°S 36.75°W / -54.25; -36.75), the first ever land discovered south of the Antarctic Convergence
- 1698–1699 Edmond Halley sails to (52° S)
- 1720 Captain George Shelvocke – sails to (61° 30′ S)
- 1739 Jean-Baptiste Charles Bouvet de Lozier – discovers Bouvet Island (54°26′S 3°24′E / 54.433°S 3.4°E / -54.433; 3.4)
- 1771 James Cook – HM Bark Endeavour expedition
- 1771–1772 First French Antarctic Expedition – led by Yves-Joseph de Kerguelen-Trémarec discovers Kerguelen Islands (49°15′S 69°35′E / 49.25°S 69.583°E / -49.25; 69.583)
- 1772–1775 James Cook – sails HMS Resolution crossing Antarctic Circle in January 1773 and December 1773. On 30 January 1774 he reaches 71° 10′ S, his Farthest South, coming within about 75 miles of the Antarctic mainland without seeing it.
Read more about this topic: List Of Antarctic Expeditions
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