In 1837, during an 1837-1840 expedition across the deep southern hemisphere, Captain Jules Dumont d'Urville sailed his ship Astrolabe along a coastal area of Antarctica which he later named the Adélie Coast, in honor of his wife. During the Antarctic part of this expedition, Dumont d'Urville team performed the first experiments to determine the approximate position of the South magnetic pole, and landed on Débarquement Rock in the Geologie Archipelago, just 4 km from the mainland, where he took mineral and animal samples. On his return to France in 1840 he was made rear admiral.
Within a year of returning from the Third Expedition, Charcot commanded a new expedition from 1908-1911. Sailing on the ship Pourquoi-Pas? IV, the expedition explored the Bellingshausen Sea, the Amundsen Sea, and discovered, charted and named several features. Loubet Land was named for Émile Loubet, the President of France during Charcot's earlier expedition. Charcot Island was named for the Captain himself. The expedition moored aboard ship in a cove on the southeast side of Petermann Island, which they named Port Circumcision because it was spotted 1 January 1909, the traditional day for the Feast of the Circumcision. Renaud Island was first charted and named. Fallieres Coast was first explored in January 1909, and Charcot named for Clément Armand Fallières, then President of France. Mikkelsen Bay was first seen from a distance in 1909, but it was not recognised as a bay. The Mikkelsen Islands were named after Otto Mikkelsen, a Norwegian diver who inspected the damaged hull of the Pourquoi-Pas at Deception Island. Marguerite Bay was discovered in 1909 and Charcot named the bay after his wife. Jenny Island, in Marguerite Bay, was discovered and named by Charcot for the wife of Sub-Lieutenant Maurice Bongrain, second officer of the expedition. The name "Pavie" was given in 1909 to an island, or possible cape, shown on the expedition's maps at. Viewed from a position some 15 to 17 miles southeast of Jenny Island, expedition surveyor Maurice Bongrain made sketches of this feature which were labeled both "Île Pavie" and "Cap Pavie". The area later became known as Pavie Ridge. Adelaide Island was first surveyed by the expedition. They also discovered Millerand Island, which was likely named for Alexandre Millerand, French statesman. Douglas Range was seen from a distance. Rothschild Island was named after Baron Edouard Alphonse de Rothschild, head of the French branch of the Rothschild family and president of the Rothschild Brothers bank. The northern portion of Wilkins Sound was first seen and roughly mapped in 1910 by the expedition.
Fifth expedition
This expedition was led by Michel Barre and used the vessel Commandant Charcot. It visited Adelie Land, Macquarie Island and the Balleny Islands. Twelve of the expedition party, and 28 dogs, were put ashore at Adelie Land where they spent a year doing weather and astronomical research.
