Watkins Island is a low lying, ice-covered island long, lying southwest of Lavoisier Island in the

Biscoe Islands Biscoe Islands is a series of islands, of which the principal ones are Renaud, Lavoisier (named ''Serrano'' by Chile and ''Mitre'' by Argentina), Watkins, Krogh, Pickwick and Rabot, lying parallel to the west coast of Graham Land and extending ...

. The island was first mapped by the

French Antarctic Expedition The French Antarctic Expedition is any of several French expeditions in Antarctica. First expedition In 1772, Yves-Joseph de Kerguelen-Trémarec and the naturalist Jean Guillaume Bruguière sailed to the Antarctic region in search of the fabl ...

under

Jean-Baptiste Charcot Jean-Baptiste-Étienne-Auguste Charcot (15 July 1867 – 16 September 1936), born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, was a French scientist, medical doctor and polar scientist. His father was the neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot (1825–1893). Life Jean- ...

, 1903–05 and 1908–10, but remained unnamed until resighted by the BGLE under Rymill, 1934–1937. He gave the name Mikkelsen Island after

Ejnar Mikkelsen Ejnar Mikkelsen (December 23, 1880 – May 1, 1971) was a Danish polar explorer and author. He is most known for his expeditions to Greenland. Biography Mikkelsen was born in Vester Brønderslev, Jutland. He served in the Georg Carl Amdrup exp ...

, Danish Arctic explorer. In applying the name, Rymill was unaware of the existence of

Mikkelsen Islands The Mikkelsen Islands are a small group of islands and rocks lying off the southeast coast of Adelaide Island, southeast of the Léonie Islands. They were discovered by the French Antarctic Expedition under Jean-Baptiste Charcot in 1908–10 ...

southwestward, named in 1908–1910 by Charcot. To avoid confusion of the two, the

UK-APC The UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee (or UK-APC) is a United Kingdom government committee, part of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, responsible for recommending names of geographical locations within the British Antarctic Territory (BAT) and ...

recommended in 1952 that the Rymill naming be amended. The new name, Watkins Island, commemorates

Gino Watkins Henry George "Gino" Watkins FRGS (29 January 1907 – c. 20 August 1932) was a British Arctic explorer and nephew of Bolton Eyres-Monsell, 1st Viscount Monsell. Biography Born in London, he was educated at Lancing College and acquired a lov ...

, leader of the British Arctic Air Route Expedition, 1930–1931. A new feature,

Mikkelsen Bay Mikkelsen Bay is a bay, wide at its mouth and indenting , entered between Bertrand Ice Piedmont and Cape Berteaux along the west coast of Graham Land, Antarctica. First seen from a distance in 1909 by the French Antarctic Expedition under Jean-Ba ...

, has been named for Ejnar Mikkelsen.

See also