April 5, 1722: Jacob Roggeveen discovers Easter Island

Jacob Roggeveen was born in Middelburg, Netherlands in 1659. He was educated by his father, Arend in mathematics, navigation, geometry, and astronomy. In 1690, Jacob graduated from the University of Harderwijk with a degree in law. He became employed at the Dutch East India Company in 1706. In 1721, he was tasked with finding the mythical continent of Terra Australis. Terra Australis had appeared on many ancient maps and if found could be used as jumping off point for access to the "Spice Islands." His expedition left India and sailed southwest into the Pacific. They made landfall at Valdivia, Chile before sailing West. On April 5, 1722, Easter Sunday, Roggeveen's expedition found Easter Island. He named the island after the holiday it was discovered on. The expedition sailed back to India. Roggeveen headed back to Middelburg, where he died in 1729.

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