Talk:Wake Island

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Etymology Draft

Latest comment: 2 years ago2 comments1 person in discussion

Named after Captain William Wake of the Prince William Henry (a British trading schooner) who according to Captain Joseph Pierpont (of the American brig Sally) together with Pierpont ran ashore on a different reef (Wade's Rocks) on September 2, 1796 at midnight. The connection between this incident and Wake Island is uncertain. Also said to be named for Captain Samuel Wake.

background info on a William Wake of Prince William Henry

page 121 "PRINCE WILLIAM HENRY . - A British schooner , one of the so - called Alder squadron , now commanded by William Wake . She had been on the coast in 1792 , 1793 and 1794 ; see entries for those years in Transactions of Royal Society of"

in 1795- according to page 160 of Otter skins, Boston ships, and China goods (1992), supposedly mentioned on page 220 of Journal of a Fur Trading Voyage from Boston to the Northwest Coast of America in the Ship Atahualpa 1800-03, and supposedly the same as "Captain Wake" mentioned on page 62 of The Journal of William Sturgis (pub. 1978).

  1. ^ Wake Island, in Encyclopædia Britannica, "The atoll was visited by the British mariner William Wake (1796)"
  2. ^ The Armchair Navigator III, p. 9 "had Capt. Wake struck a reef different from that of the modern Johnston Atoll, prior to his discovery of modern Wake Atoll? If so, had he truly - for that would be the only logical conclusion- struck both reefs in September 1796, and managed to float free...twice?
    Were Wake and Pierpont sailing in company the entire time up until their simultaneous arrival at Canton, November 13, 1796? If so, why did Joe Pierpont report merely the reef that corresponds to the modern Johnston Atoll and not also Wake's Reef and Wake Island? If not, why had Arrowsmith not also mapped the reef with 2 islands in the position of modern Johnston Atoll? And why had he initially only map the reef, prior to also adding, to later charts, Wake's alleged discovery (or rather rediscovery) of modern Wake Island?"
  3. ^ Facing Fearful Odds: The Siege of Wake Island (2002), p. 22, "Sometime in 1796, a British trading schooner, the Prince William Henry, happened across San Francisco. Samuel Wake, the merchantman's skipper, presumed that the was the first to sight the little speck of sand, and he christened it "Wake" or "Wake's" Island."


--Geographyinitiative (talk) 01:36, 15 March 2022 (UTC)Reply

Explanation of Current Etymology

In the current version of the etymology on the page, I prefer William over Samuel because at this time, I have no source from the 18th century that a Captain Samuel Wake ever existed. As DCDuring pointed out elsehwere, there is a Captain Samuel Delano and brother William in the early 19th century, but still, they are not surnamed Wake. If there is a document from the 18th century mentioning a Samuel Wake, then I think the two names William and Samuel could be put side by side as true alternate explanations, if no other information was forthcoming. As it is, I think the Samuel Wake etymology deserves a passing mention because of the lack of clarity surrounding the origin of the name of the island, but it does not deserve placement side-by-side with the name of William Wake, whose existence is confirmed in documents of the period. --Geographyinitiative (talk) 12:51, 15 March 2022 (UTC)Reply

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