Maude and Niel Gunson both assumed this to be the whaler Mary, owned by John Lydekker (1778–1832), and that her captain Edward Reed Lacy had reported the island.

Captain Andrew Johnson Wing (1820–1897) and his full crew managed to save not only themselves but also four small whaleboats and scanty provisions.

In late March, the 31 men tried their luck by putting to sea in the four open boats and made their way northwest for 49 days straight when finally they reached safety in Guam, 2,900 nautical miles from where they had started.

[12] Much of Canton's land surface is bare coral, sparsely covered with herbs and low bunch grass; trees and bushes are found near the village site.

According to Edwin H. Bryan's American Polynesia and the Hawaiian Chain, Canton possessed in 1941 a total of twelve native species of vegetation, including low herbs and bunch grass, a thick stand of Scaevola shrubs on the island's south side (2–3 m or 6.6–9.8 ft high), some Suriana maritima shrubs near the lagoon entrance, heliotrope (Heliotropium foertherianum) and kou (Cordia subcordata) trees, and coconut palms.

[9][13] Geoffrey Buddle of the New Zealand solar eclipse expedition of 1937 reported 23 bird species on Canton, together with Polynesian rats, lizards, hermit crabs and turtles.

[14] There is no fresh water on Canton except for rainwater caught in cisterns; Pan American World Airways had a large distillation plant on the island when it operated there during the 1940s and 1950s.

The 2000 surveys (Obura, et al.) identified that at the entrance to the lagoon very strong tidal flows pass through with extensive coral gardens extending for a radius of approximately two km (1.2 mi) from the channel.

At about 4 km (2.5 mi) inside of the channel, the lagoon is crossed by four north–south reef ledges, which reduce water flow and suppress coral growth.

On 8 June 1937, Canton was the site of a total solar eclipse and the island was occupied briefly by American and New Zealand scientists, members of an expedition organized by the National Geographic Society, and led by the astronomer Samuel Alfred Mitchell.

[17] The American ship allegedly responded in kind, following which both captains agreed to "cease fire" until instructions could be received from their respective governments.

Washington and London quickly ordered no further escalation, and both parties observed the solar eclipse together, "though officially a bit cool.

Although the British ambassador to the United States requested removal of markers claiming U.S. sovereignty, President Franklin Roosevelt had formally placed the island under control of the U.S.

tenure proved cordial and cooperative thereafter, with each party enjoying the other's hospitality and working together to ensure smooth operation of island facilities.

On 4 December 1941, the Pacific Clipper departed Kanton for New Caledonia as the final civilian flight before the United States joined the war.

During World War II the United States Navy built a 6,230-foot (1,900 m) airstrip at 2°46′05″S 171°42′37″W / 2.76806°S 171.71028°W / -2.76806; -171.71028 (now known as Canton Island Airport (IATA: CIS, ICAO: PCIS)).

British Commonwealth Pacific Airlines (BCPA), Australia's first trans-Pacific airline, served the island via a cooperative agreement with Australian National Airways (ANA) initially with Douglas DC-4's on a routing of Sydney - Auckland - Fiji - Canton Island - Honolulu - San Francisco - Vancouver, with the inaugural flight departing Australia on 15 September 1946.

[25] Vice-president Richard Nixon and his wife visited the island in October 1953, en route to New Zealand, where they stayed overnight and were interviewed by Fred Carpenter for the local radio station KIBS.

[32] A station of the Global Seismographic Network, IU KNTN, hosted by the Kiribati Weather Service was established in 2007 with current data shown as of August 2016.

[33] In 2010, a British yachtsman and his crew, who were sailing from Hawaii to Australia, stopped at Canton and discovered the 24 islanders (14 adults and 10 children[34]) were dangerously short of food.