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First European Crossing of the Antarctic Circle

Name: First European Crossing of the Antarctic Circle
Start: 1773-01-17
Location: Antarctic Circle

When: 17 January 1773
Where: Antarctic Circle
Part of: Captain Cook becomes the first European to cross the Antarctic Circle

On 17 January 1773, Cook's crew became the first recorded Europeans to cross the Antarctic Circle during the second voyage.

The event occurred during the second scientific expedition commissioned to determine the existence of Terra Australis. The crew had previously demonstrated the ability to obtain fresh water from sea ice. The crossing was a significant milestone in maritime exploration, achieved by HMS Resolution and HMS Adventure.

Sources

James Cook Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-22

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.