Discovered in 1739 by French explorer Jean-Baptiste Charles Bouvet de Lozier, the island was famously lost and misplotted for decades due to heavy fog. British sealers rediscovered it in the 19th century, claiming it briefly before Norway formally annexed the territory in the 1920s. It was officially declared a nature reserve in 1971 to protect its unique seals and seabirds, remaining an uninhabited Norwegian dependency.