In 1879, backed by James Gordon Bennett Jr.—owner of the "New York Herald"—and under the auspices of the United States Navy, Lieutenant Commander De Long sailed from San Francisco on the ship with a plan to find a way to the North Pole via the Bering Strait. As well as collecting scientific data and animal specimens, De Long discovered three islands and claimed them for the United States in the summer of 1881. The government did not endorse this claim; as such the islands are under Russian jurisdiction.