James Cook 1773/74
The Antarctic 1
The existence of a Northern landmass equaling the Southern continent had been considered as probable for a long time – as otherwise the rotating earth would go out of balance. The first travels to the South Seas, however, were aimed at the search of this so-called Terra Australis. On his second circumnavigation James Cook, the greatest of all seamen, travelled to the Southern polar circle and reached the edge of the pack ice. He circled the Antarctic, however, without ever facing land. Thus, he proved that the expected big continent actually did not exist.