Jules Dumont d'Urville discovers Adélie Land for France

Background. Jules Sébastien César Dumont d'Urville (1790–1842) was a French explorer and naval officer who explored the south and western Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, and Antarctica. Born at Condé-sur-Noireau in Lower Normandy, he was admitted to the École navale at Brest in 1807. King Louis Philippe approved his expedition plan but ordered it to aim for the South Magnetic Pole and claim it for France; failing that, the expedition was to equal the most southerly latitude of 74°34'S achieved by James Weddell in 1823.

Expedition Context. The expedition involved the corvettes Astrolabe and Zélée, commanded by Dumont d'Urville and Charles Hector Jacquinot respectively. After leaving Hobart on 1 January 1840, the ships crossed the Antarctic Convergence. On 16 January, they sighted their first iceberg, and two days later found themselves in a mass of ice. The expedition aimed to claim territory for France.

Discovery and Claim. The coast of Adélie Land was discovered in January 1840 by Jules Dumont d'Urville, who named it after his wife, Adèle. Adélie Land (French: Terre Adélie) is a claimed territory of France on the continent of Antarctica, making France one of seven sovereign states making territorial claims there. France has administered it as one of five districts of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands since 1955 and has applied the Antarctic Treaty System rules since 1961.