Palmyra's History

1798 A.D.
After a premonition delivered in a dream, American sea captain Edmond Fanning "discovers" the atoll the next morning. He does not land.

1802
Captain Sawle and his American ship are blown ashore during a storm. The name of his ship is the Palmyra.

1816
A Spanish pirate ship, the Esperanza, loaded with plunder from Incan temples, wrecks on the atoll reefs. The crew allegedly buries the treasure beneath a palm grove before setting out on three fabricated rafts. Two of the rafts are never seen again. The remaining raft is rescued by an American whaling vessel. The sole survivor of the raft soon dies after sharing the fate of his ship.

1859
Dr. G.P. Judd of the American brig, the Josephine, claims possession of the islets for the United States and the American Guano Company.

1862
King Kamehameha IV declares possession of Palmyra for the Kingdom of Hawaii, acting on a petition by Zenas Bent and J.B. Wilkinson. Bent later sells his interest in Palmyra to Wilkinson, who later willed his interest in the atoll to his wife.

1898
The United States of America, by Joint Resolution of Congress and under the leadership of President McKinley, annexes the Territory of Hawaii, explicitly including Palmyra.

1911-12
Judge Henry E. Cooper of Honolulu buys Palmyra Atoll and quiets title to Palmyra in the Land Court of Hawaii.

1922
The Fullard-Leo family of Hawaii purchases Palmyra Atoll from Cooper.

1940-1946
The United States Navy takes over the island and utilizes it as a naval air facility during World War II.

1947
Fullard-Leo family defeats U.S. Government claim to ownership of Palmyra by a U.S. Supreme Court decision.

1959
Hawaii becomes the 50th State. Palmyra is specifically excluded from the State of Hawaii, making it the only privately owned territory in the United States.

1961
President Kennedy issues an executive order vesting civil administration of Palmyra in the U.S. Secretary of the Interior.

1974
A yachting couple is murdered at Palmyra, later becoming the basis for And the Sea Will Tell, a book by Vincent Bugliosi (author of Helter Skelter), published in 1991. It becomes a New York Times Bestseller (1991) and a TV movie (1991).

2000
Fullard-Leo family agrees to sell the atoll to The Nature Conservancy, which aims to ensure the preservation of Palmyra Atoll for future generations.

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