French Antarctic Expedition
The first French expeditions to the Antarctic took place from 1772 to 1910.
First and second expedition
1772 sailed Yves-Joseph de Kerguelen-Trémarec , a French Spotted, in search of the fabled Terra Australis to the Antarctic , where he Kerguelen discovered and various territories of France took possession. He was accompanied by the naturalist Jean Guillaume Bruguière .
In his report to King Louis XV. he greatly overestimated the value of the Kerguelen; as a result, he was sent on a second expedition, where he again reached the Kerguelen. In the meantime it had become clear that the islands were barren, largely useless and definitely not the Terra Australis. On his return, Kerguelen-Trémarec was sent to prison.
Third expedition
From 1837 Jules Dumont d'Urville led an expedition to the southern polar regions, where he sailed along the coast of part of the Antarctic, which he named Adélie Coast in honor of his wife . On his return in 1840 he was appointed rear admiral .
Fourth expedition
From 1903 to 1905 Jean-Baptiste Charcot led an expedition that explored the west coast of Grahamland with the Français . The expedition reached Adelaide Island in 1905 and took photos of the Palmer Archipelago and the Loubet Coast .
In 1904, the southwest coast of Anvers Island was superficially explored . A small peninsula in the southeast of Biscoe Bay was named Presqu'ile de Biscoe , with which John Biscoe was honored, who is believed to have landed nearby in 1832. In January 1905, the Loubet coast was explored and named after Émile Loubet , the then President of France . Other areas explored were Rabot Island (named after Charles Rabot ), Watkins Island , Arthur Bay and Lavoisier Island , named Ile Nansen after Fridtjof Nansen . The Mount Français in Trojan Mountains named after the expedition ship.
Fifth expedition
From 1908 to 1910 another expedition under Charcot explored with the ship Pourquoi-Pas? the Bellingshausen Sea and the Amundsen Sea and discovered the Marguerite Bay and the Charcot Island , which was named after him.
They spent the winter on board the ship in a small bay on the southeast side of Petermann Island , called Port Circumcision because it was found on January 1, 1909, the traditional day for the celebration of Christ's circumcision. Areas mapped and named included Renaud Island , Fallières Coast (January 1909, named after Clement Armand Fallieres , President of France), and Marguerite Bay (named after Charcot's wife).
In 1909 the Mikkelsen Bay was also discovered , although it was not recognized as a bay because of the distance. The Mikkelsen Islands , like the bay, were named after Otto Mikkelsen, a Norwegian diver who inspected the damaged hull of the Pourquoi-Pas .
The expedition explored Adelaide Island for the first time. The Millerand Island was discovered and probably after Alexandre Millerand named, a French statesman. Also Édouard de Rothschild was honored by the Rothschild Island is named after him.
