Cornelis Giles

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Cornelis Giles (in Dutch: Cornelis Cornelisz. Gielis; c. 1675 – 2 July 1722) was a Dutch whaler, navigator, cartographer, and polar explorer.

Life

As a whaler in 1707, Giles traveled north of Nordaustlandet in Svalbard and reached a point farther north of Sjuøyane without encountering ice. A published abstract in the Royal Geographical Society's proceedings later remarked in 1873 that such voyages "have never been equalled [sic] up to the present day".[1]

He then continued his route eastward in open sea and sighted an unknown high land at approximately 80 degrees north—the island of Kvitøya[2]—located about 100 km east of the main Svalbard archipelago. The location appeared on charts as "Giles Land" for a number of years,[3] and the island was not visited again for approximately 170 years due to heavy pack ice in the region.

Over time, "Giles Land" evolved into an enigmatic feature in cartographic records, as uncertainty about its position persisted. Sightings of Kong Karls Land, much farther south, in the mid-19th century were at times wrongly attributed to Giles Land, adding to the confusion surrounding its true location.[4]

Kvitøya was eventually visited for an exploration in 1898,[5] but uncertainty about Giles Land lingered, and as late as 1935 an expedition in the icebreaker Sadko was described in contemporary news reports as seeking a "phantom island" or "alleged island" of Giles Island.[6]

Death and legacy

Giles died at sea on 2 July 1722, and was buried in Den Helder on 19 August. The Gilessundet inlet in Svalbard was named in his honor.

References

  1. Markham, Clements (1873). On Discoveries east of Spitzbergen, and Attempts to reach the Pole on the Spitzbergen Meridians. London: Royal Geographical Society. p. 99. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  2. Patton, Henry. "Map Myths - Giles Land". Map Myths. Retrieved 2 May 2026.
  3. Norum, Roger; Proctor, James (2018). Svalbard (Spitsbergen). Chalfont Saint Peter, United Kingdom: Bradt Travel Guides. p. 130. ISBN 9781784770471.
  4. Patton, Henry. "Map Myths - Giles Land". Map Myths. Retrieved 2 May 2026.
  5. Colby, Frank Moore (1918). The New International Encyclopedia, Volume 9. Dodd, Mead. p. 766.
  6. "Soviet Expedition Seeks Lost Phantom Island in the Arctic". The Evening News. Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. 22 August 1935. Retrieved 13 August 2020.

Further reading

  • Michel d'Arcangues, Dictionary of pole explorers, Séguier, 2002, p. 223.