Palmer, Nathaniel Brown (1799-1877), was an American sea captain. He may have been the first explorer to sight Antarctica (see Antarctica (Early exploration) ). In 1820, while searching for seal-fishing grounds, he took his sloop, the Hero, south from Yankee Harbor in the South Shetland Islands. He sighted the Antarctic Peninsula, an arm of Antarctica extending north toward South America. Palmer believed it was only an island. In 1821, he and Captain George Powell, a British sealer, became the first explorers to sight the South Orkney Islands. Palmer was born on Aug. 8, 1799, in Stonington, Connecticut. He died on June 21, 1877.
