Malden Island
The earliest documented sighting of Malden Island by Europeans was on 25 March 1825, by Captain Samuel Bunker (1796-1874) of the whaler "Alexander" of Nantucket. Bunker's journal for that day mentioned that "it proved to be an island seen by the "Sarah Ann" of London and the "Independence" of Nantucket, Capt. Whippey". They were also whaling vessels. That logbook extract may explain several things: why Malden Island was once known as "Independence Island", Sarah Ann Island (a phantom island), and that Bunker wasn't the first European to see the island. He couldn't land, and sailed on the next day.