U.S. Unincorporated Possessions

1634                       Reef first shown on Dutch maps.
1654                       Named Bajo Nuevo Bank.
1660                       Re-discovered by the English.
22 Nov 1869                Claimed by U.S. by James W. Jennett (also called Petrel Islands).
 8 Sep 1972                Bajo Nuevo is specifically not mentioned by U.S. in list of guano
                             islands renounced to Colombia.

Territorial Dispute: Claimed by Jamaica and possibly Honduras (until 20 Dec 1999); Colombia considers Bajo Nuevo Bank apart of the Providence Archipelago in the intendancy of San Andres y Providencia.

 

Map of Baker Island

Population: Uninhabited; visited annually by US Fish and Wildlife Service (2007) Capital: None (Meyerton 1935-1942)

1818                       Discovered by U.S. Capt. Elisha Folger of the whaling ship Equator,
                             named New Nantucket Island.
Aug 1825                   Resighted by U.S. Capt. Obed Starbuck of the Loper.
1832                       Renamed by Baker Island by U.S. Capt. Michael Baker. 
14 Aug 1839                Claimed for the U.S.
16 Aug 1857                Annexed by U.S.
1886 - 1934                Annexed by Britain.
1934                       Reclaimed by U.S. (unincorporated territory).
 3 Apr 1935 -  7 Feb 1942  Colonized by U.S.
 1 Sep 1943 - May 1944     Occupied by U.S. military forces (Baker Naval Air Station).
27 Jun 1974                Administered by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service as 
                             Baker and Howland Islands National Wildlife Refuge.
 6 Jan 2009                Part of Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument. 

Heads of the Baker, Howland and Jarvis Colonization Scheme
1935 - 1937                William "Bill" T. Miller
1937 -  7 Feb 1942         Richard "Dick" B. Black 
Island Commanders
 1 Sep 1943 - 1943         Willis Augustus Lee                (b. 1888 - d. 1945)
c.1943                     W.J. Jennings
1943 - May 1944            ....

 

Map of Howland Island

Population: Uninhabited; visited annually by US Fish and Wildlife Service (2007) Capital: None (Itascatown 1935-1942)

1822                       Discovered by U.S. Capt. George B. Worth on whaling ship Oeno
                             named Worth Island.
 9 Sep 1842                Resighted by U.S. Captain George Netcher aboard Isabella and renamed
                             Howland Island for the ship's lookout, Mr. Howland, who first
                             spotted the island.
 5 Feb 1857                Annexed by U.S.
1886 - 1935                Claimed by Britain.
1935                       Claimed by U.S. (unincorporated territory).
30 Mar 1935 - 31 Jan 1942  Colonized by U.S. (see Baker Island).
 2 Jul 1937                Amelia Earhart left Lae, New Guinea, headed for Howland Island,
                             but was never seen again.
Sep 1943 - May 1944        Occupied by U.S. military forces (Howland Naval Air Station).
27 Jun 1974                Administered by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service as 
                             Baker and Howland Islands National Wildlife Refuge.
 6 Jan 2009                Part of Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument. 

Island Commanders
Sep 1943 - May 1944        ....

 

Map of Jarvis Island

Population: Uninhabited; visited annually by US Fish and Wildlife Service (2007) Capital: None (Millersville 1935-1942)

21 Aug 1821                Discovered by U.K. Capt. Brown in the Eliza Francis, who named
                             it Jarvis Island for the owner of the vesel.
28 Oct 1856                Claimed for U.S.
27 Feb 1858                Annexed by U.S.
 3 Jun 1889                Annexed by Britain.
1935                       Claimed by U.S. (Javis Island)(unincorporated territory).
13 May 1936 - 27 Jun 1974  Administered by U.S. Department of the Interior.
26 Mar 1935 -  7 Feb 1942  Colonized by U.S. (see Baker Island).
 1 Jul 1957 - 31 Dec 1958  Occupied by U.S. scientists during International 
                             Geophysical Year (IGY).
27 Jun 1974                Administered by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service as
                             Jarvis Island National Wildlife Refuge.
 6 Jan 2009                Part of Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument. 

Station Chief for IGY
1957 - Nov 1958            Otto H. Hornung                           (d. 1958)

               Adopted 2 Nov 2001 Unofficial

 2 Sep 1796                U.S. brig Sally, commanded by Joseph Pierpoint, grounded on a shoal
                             near Johnston Island, but gave no name to the land.
10 Dec 1807                Re-discovered by U.K. Capt. Charles J. Johnston on HMS Cornwallis,
                             named Johnston Island.
19 Mar 1858                Claimed by U.S. (unincorporated territory).
19 Jun 1858                Claimed by Kingdom of Hawaii (Kalama Island).
27 Jul 1858                Annexed by U.S.; re-annexed by Hawaii (not recognized by U.S.).
12 Aug 1898                Hawaii under U.S. rule; Johnston remains separate.
29 Jul 1926                Administered by U.S. Department of Agriculture as a bird refuge.
29 Dec 1934                Administered by U.S. Navy.
15 Aug 1941                Johnston Island U.S. Naval Air Facility
 1 Jul 1948                Administered by U.S. Air Force.
 1 Jul 1973                Administered by the U.S. Defense Nuclear Agency (later called
                             Defense Threat Reduction Agency).
30 Jun 1990 - 12 Apr 2001  U.S. Army Johnston Atoll Chemical Agent Disposal System (JACADS).
 1 Oct 1999 -  1 Jan 2004  Administered by U.S. Air Force.
 1 Jan 2004                Island turned over to Fish and Wildlife Service
                             as Johnston Atoll Wildlife Refuge; in the interim Johnston Atoll
                             and the three-mile Naval Defensive Sea around it remain under
                             the jurisdiction and administrative control of U.S. Air Force.
 6 Jan 2009                Part of Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument. 

Owner
1866 - 1885                Kalama Wilkinson                   (d. 1885) 
Island Commanders
1934 - 1942                .... 
Nov 1942 - Jul 1943        Richard P. Ross, Jr.
Jul 1943 - Mar 1944        Bruce T. Hemphill
Mar 1944 - 1944            August F. Penzold, Jr.
1944 - 2000                ....
2000 - 2001                James L. Pasquino
c.2002                     Timothy Bridges
200. - 200.                Mark Hostetter 
200. - 2004                Eric Sassi

 

Map of Kingman Reef

Population: Uninhabited (2007)

14 Jun 1798                Discovered by U.S. Capt. Edmund Fanning (Dangerous Reef).
29 Nov 1853                Re-sighted by U.S. Capt. W.E. Kingman.
18 Aug 1856                Claimed by U.S. (Danger Reef)
10 May 1922                Annexed by U.S. (Kingman Reef)(unincorporated territory). 
29 Dec 1934                Administered by U.S. Navy.
18 Jan 2001                Administered by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service as
                             Kingman Reef National Wildlife Refuge.
 6 Jan 2009                Part of Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument. 

          Adopted 29 May 2000 Unofficial

 8 Jul 1859                Discovered by U.S. Capt. N.C. Middlebrooks, though he was most
                             commonly known as Capt. Brooks, of the sealing ship Gambia.
                             Islands named the "Middlebrook Islands" or the "Brook Islands.
28 Aug 1867                Annexed for U.S. by Capt. William Reynolds on U.S.S. Lackawanna,
                             the name changed to "Midway" some time after this
                              (unincorporated territory).
1903                       U.S. Navy assumes control and names the Commercial Pacific Cable
                             Company island custodian.
20 Jan 1903                U.S. Commercial Pacific Cable Co. opens a cable station.
1904 - 1908                U.S. Marine detachment garrisons Midway to protect the cable
                             station.
 4 Feb 1941 - 31 Oct 1996  Administered by U.S. Navy.
 1 Aug 1941                U.S. Naval Air Station Midway
 4-6 Jun 1942              Battle of Midway, attempted Japanese invasion.
29 Jul 1942                U.S. Naval Operating Base Midway Islands
13 Jan 1969                U.S. Naval Facility Midway Island
Oct 1978 - 30 Sep 1993     U.S. Naval Air Facility Midway Island
22 Apr 1988                Midway Atoll is designated as an overlay National Wildlife Refuge.
31 Oct 1996                Administered by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service as
                             Midway Island National Wildlife Refuge.

Superintendents of the Cable Station
Apr 1903 - 190.            Ben W. Colley 
1906 - 1921                Daniel Morrison
1921 - 1940                ....
Island Commanders
Jun 1940 - Jul 1940        Samuel G. Taxis
Jul 1940 - 29 Sep 1940     Kenneth W. Benner
29 Sep 1940 - 14 Feb 1941  Harold C. Roberts                  (d. 1945) 
14 Feb 1941 - 1941         Robert H. Pepper
1941 -  1 Aug 1941         Bert A. Bone 
Commanding Officers
 1 Aug 1941 - 1942         Cyril Thomas Simard
1942 - 31 Oct 1996         ....

             Adopted  7 Dec 2001 Unofficial
 

Map of Navassa Island

Population: Uninhabited; note: transient Haitian fishermen  and others camp  on the island (2007)

1504                       Discovered by Spanish explorers, named Isla de Navaza.
18 Nov 1857                Claimed for U.S. by Capt. Peter Duncan (Navassa Island)
                             (unincorporated territory).
1903 - 1917                Dependency of U.S. Guantanamo Bay Naval Base.
17 Jan 1916                U.S. government formally reasserts sovereignty.
1917                       Administered by U.S. Coast Guard.
16 Jan 1997                Administered by U.S. Department of Interior. 
 3 Dec 1999                Administered by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service as
                             Navassa Island National Wildlife Refuge.

Territorial Dispute: Claimed by Haiti, source of subsistence fishing. 

13 Jun 1798                Probably sighted by U.S Capt. Edmund Fanning aboard the Betsy.
 7 Nov 1802                Discovered by U.S. Capt. Sawle aboard Palmyra,
                             named Palmyra Island.
15 Sep 1840                Visited by U.S. Capt. Scott aboard the Samarang.
19 Oct 1859                Annexed by U.S. (Palmyra Island).
15 Apr 1862                Claimed by Kingdom of Hawaii (annexed 18 Jun 1862).
1889                       Annexed by Britain.
 7 Jul 1898                Annexed by U.S. following annexation of Hawaii.
14 Jun 1900                Part of U.S. Territory of Hawaii. Aug
1911                       Judge Henry E. Cooper of Hono­lulu acquired title to the island and
                             used it for growing coconuts. He sold all but two islets to Leslie
                             and Ellen Ful­lard-Leo in Aug 1922. When the judge died in 1929
                             his two islets (Home Islands) were passed to his heirs.
21 Feb 1912                Formally claimed by U.S. (as part of Hawaii).
21 Oct 1921                Reclaimed for U.S. by Admiral W.H.H. Southerland 
                             aboard West Virginia.
Nov 1939 - 1947            Occupied by U.S. military forces 
15 Aug 1941                Palmyra U.S. Naval Air Station.
12 May 1947                U.S. Supreme Court restores Palmyra to the Ful­lard-Leo family.
21 Aug 1959                Hawaii becomes a state; but Palmyra remains as an Incorporated
                             Territory of the U.S. administered by U.S. Department of 
                             Interior.
Jan 2000                   Palmyra Atoll purchased by the Nature Conservancy for about $30
                             million. The Conservancy manages the atoll as a nature preserve 
                             (taking possession 20 Nov 2000).
18 Jan 2001                The lagoons and surrounding waters within the 12 nautical mile 
                             U.S. territorial seas were transferred to the U.S. Fish &
                             Wildlife Service (Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge).
 6 Jan 2009                Part of Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument. 

Island Commanders
Nov 1939 - Oct 1941         ....
Oct 1941 - Jul 1942         William C. Van Ryzin              (b. 1914 -  d. 2002)
Jul 1942? - Dec 1942        John C. Miller(?)
1942 - 1947                 ....

1510                       Serranilla Bank first shown on Spanish maps.
 8 Sep 1879                Claimed by the U.S (located two hundred ten miles north 
                             northeast of Nicaragua).
 8 Sep 1972                Serranilla Bank specifically not mentioned by U.S. in list of guano
                             islands renounced to Colombia.

Territorial Disputes: Colombia has not directly claimed Serranilla Bank but is on record as considering the bank apart of the Providence Archipelago in the intendancy of San Andres y Providencia; Honduras may have asserted its own claim over Serranilla (until 20 Dec 1999); also possibly claimed by Nicaragua, Honduras and Jamaica.