of the Nantucket whaler Phoenix, was its discoverer in 1851 and that the name of his ship also became attached to the entire group of islands.

[2] Entry November 9, 1840, of the log of whaler “Gideon Howland” of New Bedford, Capt.

At 11 AM passed over a reef apparently not more than ... 5 or 6 fathoms of water on it in Lat 1° 36 S Longitude 175° 24 W Lat Meridian..." [citation needed] The etymology behind the toponym Phoenix Islands is likely more indebted to the British whaler Phœnix of London, Capt.

John Palmer, than it is to Perry Winslow's ship with the same name, because on February 23, 1824, the former captain had spotted a low and sandy island covered with “tropical birds, men of war hawks and other sea fowl in latitude 3° 39′ South and Longitude 170° 30′ West."

The Phœnix was merely one of many ships owned by the firm Daniel Bennett & Son, the largest whaling merchant of its day.