Antarctica was first sighted in 1820, with multiple explorers from different countries likely seeing the continent around the same time. The Russian expedition led by Fabian Gottlieb Thaddeus von Bellingshausen is generally credited with the first sighting on January 27, 1820. Shortly after, the British naval officer Edward Bransfield also sighted land on January 30, 1820. Additionally, American seal hunter Nathaniel Palmer saw Antarctica later that same year. The first confirmed landing on the continental mainland is attributed to Norwegian sealing captain Carsten Borchgrevink in the late 19th century. Prior to this, European explorers such as James Cook had come close but never actually sighted Antarctica itself during their 18th-century voyages. Early non-European navigators, such as Polynesians, might have reached Antarctic waters much earlier, but the documented discovery is credited to these 19th-century explorers. In summary, the discovery of Antarctica as a continent emerged from the cumulative efforts of multiple explorers, with Fabian Bellingshausen often recognized as the first to sight it in 1820.
