Bouvet Island island was claimed for the British Crown by George Norris, who named it Liverpool Island. He also reported Thompson Island as nearby, although this was later shown to be a phantom island. The first "Norvegia" expedition landed on the island in 1927 and claimed it for Norway. At this time the island was named "Bouvet Island", or "Bouvetøya" in Norwegian. After a dispute with the United Kingdom, it was declared a Norwegian dependency in 1930. It became a nature reserve in 1971. The island was discovered on 1 January 1739 by Jean-Baptiste Charles Bouvet de Lozier, commander of the French
Bouvet Island eared seal was protected on and around the island in 1929 and in 1935 all seals around the island were protected. In 1955, the South African frigate "Transvaal" visited the island. Nyrøysa, a rock-strewn ice-free area, the largest such on Bouvet, was created sometime between 1955 and 1958, probably by a landslide. In 1964 the island was visited by the British naval ship HMS "Protector". On 17 December 1971, the entire island and its territorial waters were protected as a nature reserve. A scientific landing was made in 1978, during which the underground temperature was measured to be . In