Between 1823 and 1831, American explorer and seal captain Benjamin Morrell (1795–ca.

1839) undertook a
number of expeditions, mostly to the Pacific Islands, the Southern Ocean, and the Atlantic Ocean. Geographers
and historians have refuted several of the assertions made in his ghostwritten biography, A Narrative of Four
Voyages, particularly those pertaining to his adventures in Antarctica. He undertook a lengthy expedition into
subantarctic waters aboard the sealer Wasp in 1823, and it was during this period that much of the controversy
surrounding his reputation began to emerge. Numerous of his assertions, including the first landing on Bouvet
Island, a Weddell Sea penetration to 70° S, an incredibly swift voyage of 3,500 miles (5,600 km) in improbably
high latitudes, and the discovery of a coastline he claimed to have discovered, were all made by him.