January 31

Jacob Roggeveen was born in Middelburg, Netherlands, in 1659 and joined the Dutch West India Company as a merchant adventurer. In 1721, he undertook a voyage in search of Terra Australis, leading to the European sighting of Easter Island in 1722. Roggeveen's expedition charted the island's coast and its monumental moai statues, astonishing Europeans with their scale and craftsmanship. During his Pacific voyage, he also visited Samoa and the Tuamotu Archipelago, mapping numerous islands. His detailed journals and maps expanded European knowledge of the South Pacific and its peoples. Returning safely to the Netherlands in 1723, Roggeveen contributed valuable ethnographic and geographic information that guided future explorers.