The name commemorates Captain J. Jacquemart, of the vessel FRWS Vire, that supported the French 1874 Transit of Venus Expedition to Campbell Island.

It is an eroded remnant of basaltic lavas originally laid down on a sedimentary base.

Because of its inaccessibility from the sea, the first visit by humans to the island did not take place until 29 December 1980 when a small party of scientists was landed by helicopter on the summit ridge for a 90-minute survey.

[3][4] Much of the area of the island above the cliffs is covered with tussock grassland on a substratum of peat undermined with petrel burrows.

After the eradication of rats, the snipe began to recolonise the rest of the group, with a small breeding population discovered in 2005 on southern Campbell Island opposite Jacquemart.