The British Overseas Territory known as South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands has a fascinating history. South Georgia was first sighted in 1675 by English merchant Anthony de la Roché, who referred to it as Roche Island on early maps. In 1775, James Cook landed on the island and named it the Isle of Georgia in honor of King George III. The name stuck, with the addition of South to differentiate it from the state of Georgia. Cook also discovered and named the South Sandwich Islands in the same year, naming them Sandwich Land after John Montagu, the Earl of Sandwich. The addition of South was to distinguish the islands from another archipelago known as the Sandwich Islands, which is now Hawaii. Thus, the North Sandwich Islands no longer exist!
