Andersson Island

Andersson Island, once known as Rosamel Island, is an island located at the eastern end of the Tabarin Peninsula, Antarctica. It is one of several islands around the peninsula known as Graham Land, which is closer to South America than any other part of that continent. [ [http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/object/index.cfm?fobjectid=41768 ESA Science & Technology: Graham Land ] ]

The island was first named by the French Antarctic Expedition in 1838, who called it "le Rosamel" in honor of Vice Admiral Claude Charles Marie du Campe de Rosamel, French Naval Minister. It was a way point on the second French exploration of the region. Jules Dumont d'Urville put anchor off the island when conditions aboard the "Astrolabe" and "Zelee" became overwhelming. The majority of the crew of the "Astrolabe" had obvious symptoms of scurvy and the main decks were covered by smoke from the ships' fires and bad smells and became unbearable.

The Swedish Antarctic Expedition (SwAE) in 1902 named it "le de l'Uruguay", after the vessel "Uruguay", which had rescued the SwAE party from Snow Hill Island.

It was ultimately renamed Andersson Island on November 21, 1949. It was named for Dr. Johan Gunnar Andersson (1874-1960), a Swedish geologist who had served on the SwAE. The renaming was necessary to to avoid confusion with Uruguay Island, located off the Graham Coast. [ [http://data.aad.gov.au/aadc/gaz/display_name.cfm?gaz_id=107515 Name Details ] ]

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