Premise: Pearse Island is an island in western British Columbia, Canada, in the Portland Inlet, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean. The island was first charted in 1793 by George Vancouver during his 1791-95 expedition. It was named by George Henry Richards, captain of "HMS Plumper", circa 1860, in honour of William Alfred Rombulow Pearse of the Royal Navy, who had been commander of "HMS Alert".
Hypothesis: Not only did  George Henry Richards command the HMS Plumper, he was a bit of a plumper himself.