Browse Items (241 total)
Sort by:
Palmyra Ship Description
This brief description of the ship Palmyra, for which the atoll is named, comes from 1798. It is the only full physical account of the vessel we've come across, and describes how Cornelius Sowle was the Palmyra's captain for several years prior to…
Date: 1935
Issue of the Coral Chronicle
We know very little about this two page newsletter from May of 1945, titled the "Coral Chronicle". Based on its source and content, our best guess is that it was put together by Navy members stationed on Palmyra during World War 2, and distributed…
Date: 1945-05-25
Live-bait fishing for tuna in the Central Pacific
This report excerpt describes fish caught and conclusion drawn from a 1953 project, to understand the health and size of fish populations in the Central Pacific. Commercial fishing in these regions was tricky at the time, because of ongoing reports…
Date: 1953-07
Sailor Holding Coconut Crab
This image comes from a 1925 issue of Paradise of the Pacific magazine, which also contained an article on Palmyra being a possible site for international conferences of the Pan-Pacific Union (read it here). There's little information beyond the…
Date: 1925-2
Honolulu Would Give World an Island for Friendly Confab
In 1925, the Pan-Pacific Union was looking for a place to use as an international safe zone, where various countries and groups could meet to discuss international issues. This article describes a plan put forth by the then owner of Palmyra, Leslie…
Date: 1925-2
Photos from Journal of Two Journeys
Journal of Two Journeys is "a record of the deeds of the men of the Fifth Naval Construction Battalion. " These kinds of collections were common after the end of World War 2, usually published by members through Navy Resources, collecting…
Date: 1946
Music and Millions in his Swan Song
A short but wonderful piece dictating a conversation between an old sea captain called Captain Blanchard, and an unnamed reporter at the Honolulu Advertiser. Blanchard was a colorful character, and well know in the maritime community around…
Date: 1917-07-29
Magazine Photo of Man Observing Birds on Palmyra
Unfortunately, all we know of this photo is that it comes from a 1925 issue of Mid-Pacific magazine. The caption reads:
"Life pursuing life. The birds of Palmyra live on larger fish that devour the smaller species, and they in their turn live on…
"Life pursuing life. The birds of Palmyra live on larger fish that devour the smaller species, and they in their turn live on…
Date: 1925-04
Flying Over South Sea Isles
This detailed article, writtent by Naval Lieutenant GA Ott, covers the operations of the US ship Eagle 40 as it traveled to and operated out of Palmyra in 1921. There mission was to take a small aircraft to the atoll, reassemble it in the lagoon, and…
Date: 1922-02
Sooty Terns Breeding on Palmyra
This 1967 article was written for the Pacific Bird Observer,published in the late 1960s by the Smithsonian Institute as:"...anewsletter distributed to collaborators of the Pacific Ocean Biological Survey Program of the Smithsonian Institution in…
Date: 1967-07
QSL from October 30th, 1960
Palmyra Designation: KP6
Operator: Warren
Special thanks to the Club Log Team for sharing this QSL with us!
Operator: Warren
Special thanks to the Club Log Team for sharing this QSL with us!
Date: 1960-10-30
QSL from June 1st, 1940
Palmyra Designation: KP6
Operator: Warner Hoboy
This QSL represents the first documented DxPedition to Palmyra, and we're very excited to house a digital copy of it in our archive.
Special thanks to the Club Log Team for sharing this QSL with…
Operator: Warner Hoboy
This QSL represents the first documented DxPedition to Palmyra, and we're very excited to house a digital copy of it in our archive.
Special thanks to the Club Log Team for sharing this QSL with…
Date: 1940-06-01
QSL from March 9th, 1948
Palmyra Designation: KP6
Operator: William H. Dirk
Special thanks to the Club Log Team for sharing this QSL with us!
Operator: William H. Dirk
Special thanks to the Club Log Team for sharing this QSL with us!
Date: 1948-03-09
Ships Log of the Heroine
This excerpt from the ships log of the Heroine, describes their sighting Palmyra on their way through the Pacific in 1844. While not the most descriptive account, it's always great to see passing ships mention Palmyra.
Special thanks to the New…
Special thanks to the New…
Date: 1844-03-25
QSL from June 17th, 1947
Palmyra Designation: KH6KL
Operator: W2HHF
This QSL was likely created by a CAA (forerunner to the FAA) employee, who lived and worked on Palmyra as part of the colony. Amateur radio would have been an ideal hobby for someone there at the time,…
Operator: W2HHF
This QSL was likely created by a CAA (forerunner to the FAA) employee, who lived and worked on Palmyra as part of the colony. Amateur radio would have been an ideal hobby for someone there at the time,…
Date: 1947-06-17
Mid-1800s Era Sunken Anchor
During production of the documentary Hidden Pacific, released in 2019, divers photographed this anchor off the western reefs. While the anchor itself was not a new discovery, these high resolution images offer a very detailed look at one of the most…
Date: 2017
Pan American Airways Private Code Book
This book was used by radiomen and navigators working for Pan Am Airways, during the 1930's. Anyone listening in to the transmission, who didn't have a copy of these codes, would not have understood the message. This excerpt features the code word…
Date: 1936-08-01
Terrestrial Biota Survey Photo Collection
Starting in February of 1992, a team of US Fish and Wildlife scientists visited Palmyra. The summary report describes the purpose of the visit as follows:
"Our goal was to characterize the terrestrial biota of the atoll in terms of species…
"Our goal was to characterize the terrestrial biota of the atoll in terms of species…
Date: 1992-02-18
Account of Admiral Nimitz Visiting Palmyra
This personal account is of Waitsell Leon GIvens, a Navy Radioman, 2nd Class who was stationed on Palmyra during World War 2. Throughout his life, he would often tell his family the attached story, as relayed by his daughter.
Confirmation of…
Confirmation of…
Date: 1943-06-18
Wayne Avery Collection
These photos were sent to us by world class sailor and "yachtie", Wayne Avery. He visited Palmyra with his wife in 1985 and again in 1994.
Beyond the photos, Wayne shared several stories from his time on Palmyra, we're very grateful for his…
Beyond the photos, Wayne shared several stories from his time on Palmyra, we're very grateful for his…
Date: 1984
