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Byers's Island is a
Byers's Island is a phantom island
A phantom island is a purported island which was included on maps for a period of time, but was later found not to exist. They usually originate from the reports of early sailors exploring new regions, and are commonly the result of navigati ...
reported by Captain Benjamin Morrell
Benjamin Morrell (July 5, 1795 – ) was an American sea captain, explorer and trader who made a number of voyages, mainly to the Atlantic, the Southern Ocean and the Pacific Islands. In a ghost-written memoir, ''A Narrative of Four Voyages'' ...
in his 1832
Events
January–March
* January 6 – Abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison founds the New-England Anti-Slavery Society.
* January 13 – The Christmas Rebellion of slaves is brought to an end in Jamaica, after the island's white pla ...
book ''A Narrative of Four Voyages''''.''
History
The island was first reported byBenjamin Morrell
Benjamin Morrell (July 5, 1795 – ) was an American sea captain, explorer and trader who made a number of voyages, mainly to the Atlantic, the Southern Ocean and the Pacific Islands. In a ghost-written memoir, ''A Narrative of Four Voyages'' ...
in his 1832 book ''A Narrative of Four Voyages,'' which recounts his various journeys across the high seas between 1822-1831. Morrell writes that he landed on an island he called "Byers's Island", on 12th July 1825. According to Morrell, this island was located at 28°32'N latitude, 177°4'E longitude, and is "about four miles in circumference", "moderately elevated", and features "some bushes and spots of vegetation".Benjamin Morrell: . New York 1832, p. 218
Following publication, the island falsely appeared in various maps and atlases throughout the 1800s. Stielers Handatlas
''Stielers Handatlas'' (after Adolf Stieler, 1775–1836), formally titled ''Hand-Atlas über alle Theile der Erde und über das Weltgebäude'' (''Handy atlas of all parts of the world and of the universe''), was the leading German world atlas ...
from 1891 depicts two islands, labeled ''Byer od. Patrocinio,'' and ''Morell,'' followed by question marks, suggesting that the island's existence was known to be dubious. A maritime manual in 1899 lists Byers's and Morell Island as doubtful.
Some globes continued to display the island, along with other phantom islands in the Pacific, as late as the 1960s.
Source
The origin of Byers's Island is unknown. While ''A Narrative of Four Voyages'' was published under Morell's name, it was potentially ghostwritten by magazine editor Samuel Woodworth. Burton R. Pollin: ''Poe’s life reflected through the sources of ‘Pym’''. In: Richard Kopley (ed.): ''Poe’s ‘Pym’: critical explorations''. Durham & London 1992, pp. 95–103, p. 100 As a result, it is unclear whether Morrell or Woodworth was the originator. The name of the island, "Byers", matches that of Morell's employer and ship owner, and as such this is the likely origin for the name.Reference works
* Henry M. Stommel: ''Lost Islands.'' ''The Story of Islands That Have Vanished from Nautical Charts.'' University of British Columbia Press, Vancouver 1984, ISBN 978-0-7748-0210-9 .See also
*Kure Atoll
Kure Atoll (; ; ) or Ocean Island is an atoll in the Pacific Ocean west-northwest of Midway Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands at . A coral ring across encloses a lagoon several meters deep. The atoll's largest island is called ''Gree ...
(the westernmost island of the Hawaiian chain)
*Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain
The Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain is a mostly undersea mountain range in the Pacific Ocean that reaches above sea level in Hawaii. It is composed of the Hawaiian ridge, consisting of the islands of the Hawaiian chain northwest to Kure Atoll ...
References
{{Reflist Phantom islands Northwestern Hawaiian Islands