Edmund Fanning (July 16, 1769 – April 23, 1841) was an American

explorer Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...

and sea captain, known as the "Pathfinder of the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

Life

Born in Stonington in the British Crown Colony of Connecticut to Gilbert and Huldah Fanning, from nearby Groton he went to sea as a cabin boy at the age of 14, and by the age of 24 was captain of a

West Indian A West Indian is a native or inhabitant of the West Indies (the Antilles and the Lucayan Archipelago). For more than 100 years the words ''West Indian'' specifically described natives of the West Indies, but by 1661 Europeans had begun to use it ...

brig in which he visited the South Pacific for the first time. A successful trader, Fanning made a fortune in the

China trade The Old China Trade () refers to the early commerce between the Qing Empire and the United States under the Canton System, spanning from shortly after the end of the American Revolutionary War in 1783 to the Treaty of Wanghia in 1844. The Old ...

, killing

seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impr ...

s in the South Pacific and exchanging their skins in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

for

silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...

spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for flavoring or as a garnish. Spices a ...

s, and

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and northe ...

; which he in turn sold in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. As master of the ''Betsey'' in 1797–1798, he discovered three South Pacific Islands — Fanning,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

, and

Palmyra Palmyra (; Palmyrene: () ''Tadmor''; ar, تَدْمُر ''Tadmur'') is an ancient city in present-day Homs Governorate, Syria. Archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period, and documents first mention the city in the early second ...

— which are collectively known as the Fanning Islands. (Fanning Island, today known as

Tabuaeran Tabuaeran, also known as Fanning Island, is an atoll that is part of the Line Islands of the central Pacific Ocean and part of Kiribati. The land area is , and the population in 2015 was 2,315. The maximum elevation is about 3 m (10 f ...

, is today part of

Kiribati Kiribati (), officially the Republic of Kiribati ( gil, ibaberikiKiribati),Kiribati
''The Wor ...

, while Palmyra, claimed by the Hawaiian Government in 1862 and owned for many years by a Hawaiian family, was purchased in 2000 by the

Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in 1951, The Natu ...

for an ongoing study of global warming and its effect on coral reefs.) When he discovered Palmyra Atoll, Fanning was sleeping and the ship was in command of the first mate. Fanning awoke three times in the night, and he took this as a

premonition A premonition is a feeling that some event will happen, typically a forewarning of something unwelcome. Premonition(s) or The Premonition may also refer to: Film and television * "Premonition" (''Alfred Hitchcock Presents''), an episode of ' ...

, ordering the first mate to

heave to In sailing, heaving to (to heave to and to be hove to) is a way of slowing a sailing vessel's forward progress, as well as fixing the helm and sail positions so that the vessel does not have to be steered. It is commonly used for a "break"; this ...

. In the morning, the ship resumed its travel and reached the reef of Palmyra in less than a mile. Had the ship continued its course at night, the entire crew might have perished. Acting for American investors, Fanning was agent for more than 70 commercial expeditions and voyages. His partnership

Fanning & Coles Fanning & Coles was an American firm engaged in the Old China Trade and related Maritime fur trade. The two principal partners were sea captain Edmund Fanning and financier Willet Coles. The firm existed from 1798 to 1815, owning several large mer ...

built the ship '' Tonquin'' in 1807, sailed her around the world several times and sold her for $37,000 to

John Jacob Astor John Jacob Astor (born Johann Jakob Astor; July 17, 1763 – March 29, 1848) was a German-American businessman, merchant, real estate mogul, and investor who made his fortune mainly in a fur trade monopoly, by smuggling opium into China, and ...

Pacific Fur Company The Pacific Fur Company (PFC) was an American fur trade venture wholly owned and funded by John Jacob Astor that functioned from 1810 to 1813. It was based in the Pacific Northwest, an area contested over the decades between the United Kingdom o ...

. Later the ''Tonquin'' was burned by Indians in the northwest. In 1829 he was instrumental in sending out the first American naval exploring expedition, and was greatly responsible for Congress's authorizing of the

Wilkes Expedition The United States Exploring Expedition of 1838–1842 was an exploring and surveying expedition of the Pacific Ocean and surrounding lands conducted by the United States. The original appointed commanding officer was Commodore Thomas ap Catesby ...

. Fanning's memoirs, ''Voyages Around the World'', were published in 1833. He died in

Honours

Cape Fanning Cape Fanning () is a cape that forms the north side of the entrance to Violante Inlet, on the east coast of Palmer Land, Antarctica. It was discovered by the United States Antarctic Service in a flight from East Base on December 30, 1940, and was ...

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

and

Fanning Ridge Fanning Ridge () is a prominent rock ridge, long, paralleling the south coast of South Georgia between Aspasia Point and the west side of Newark Bay. The ridge was named by the UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee, following its mapping by the So ...

South Georgia Island South Georgia ( es, Isla San Pedro) is an island in the South Atlantic Ocean that is part of the British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It lies around east of the Falkland Islands. Stretching in the east� ...

are named after Edmund Fanning.Fanning Ridge.
Geographic Names Information System.

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

Life

Honours

References

Further reading