The London-born merchant Antoine de la Roche was probably the first person to see South Georgia (54'30°S, 37'00°W). His ship was blown south in April 1675 after trying to round Cape Horn, and he caught a glimpse of South Georgia's ice-covered mountains. In 1756, Spaniard Gregorio Jerez saw the island, naming it "Isla de San Pedro". The first landing, however, was made by British Captain James Cook on 17 January 1775. He named it the Isle of Georgia after King George III and claimed it for His Majesty.

British sealers began arriving in 1786, and American sealers followed shortly after that. Within five years, more than 100 ships were taking fur seal skins and elephant seal oil. As an example, the British sealer 'Ann' took 3000 barrels of elephant seal oil and 50,000 fur seal skins from South Georgia alone in 1792-1793. American sealer Edmund Fanning took an amazing amount of 57,000 fur seal skins from 1800 to 1802. This was probably the most profitable sealing voyage ever made to South Georgia. By 1831, the crew of the American ship 'Pacific' found that fur seals were scarce. In 1909, when the American ship 'Daisy' stayed for five months, only 170 fur seal could be found. This was probably the last fur-sealing visit to South Georgia.

Whaling also took place on the island, and began in 1904, when the Compañía Argentina de Pesca (a Norwegian company based in Buenos Aires) built the first Antarctic whaling station at Grytviken. The Compañía took 183 whales its first year by using only one whaling ship, but the slow start eventually evolved into an enormous industry. This marked the beginning of South Georgia's permanent occupation. Six shore stations were eventually built on South Georgia: at Grytviken (1904 to 1965), Ocean Harbour (1909 to 1920), Leith Harbour (1909 to 1964 but closed for a year in 1933 and again during WWII), Husvik Harbour (1910 to 1931 and 1945 to 1960), Stromness Harbour (1912 to 1931), and Prince Olav Harbour (1917 to 1931). In the 1925-1926 season, 1855 blue whales, 5709 fin whales, 236 humpbacks, 13 sei whales and 12 sperm whales were caught. The total catch made it a record year: 7825 whales, which ended up producing 404,457 barrels of whale oil. During the 1926-1927 season, the same number of catching ships took 3689 blue whales, 1144 fin whales, no humpbacks, 365 sei whales and 17 sperm whales. The total catch was less this time - "only" 5215 whales, but they produced much more oil: 417,292 barrels. The Great Depression in 1929 was actually a positive even fore the whales: it slowed down the booming business of whale hunting. By the 1931-1932 season, the economic crisis (as well as overproduction the season before) forced the Prince Olav and Stromness stations to close down for good. Husvik Harbour also closed, but reopened in 1945. Leith closed only for the 1932-1933 season, and Grytviken never closed. By 1961-1962, the Norwegian companies could no longer make a satisfactory profit. Japanese took over the South Georgia whaling operations the next season, but also found it unprofitable. They closed the last shore station, Grytviken, in 1965. South Georgia's total whale catch from 1904 to 1966 included 41,515 blue whales, 87,555 fin whales, 26,754 humpbacks, 15,128 sei whales and 3716 sperm whales: this was a total of 175,250 whales.

Ernest H Shackleton achieved one of the greatest accomplishments on South Georgia: making the first major crossing of its 1800m range as the final stage of rescuing the crew of his ship, the 'Endurance'. He returned to South Georgia again in January 1922 on the 'Quest'. He was 47 years old, and he wasn't in very good shape. He died of a heart attack in his cabin on the 'Quest' at Grytviken on 5 January 1922. His widow, Lady Emily Shackleton, decided that he should be buried at South Georgia - he rests today in the whaler's cemetery at Grytviken. There are 62 other graves with Shackleton, most of them belonging to 19th-century sealers. There are also cruises that focus on Shackleton's 'Endurance' voyage. Sometimes, they visit other South Georgia sites associated with the explorer, including Cape Rosa (where Shackleton and his men arrived after their voyage from Elephant Island), Peggotty Camp (where Shackleton and his two companions set out to cross the island) and Stromness whaling station (where they finally received help).

In 1908, the British government put their earlier claims of sovereignty into a territory called Dependencies of the Falkland Islands, which includes South Georgia, the South Orkneys, the South Shetlands, the South Sandwich Islands and Graham Land (on the Antarctic Peninsula). In 1949-1050 the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey built a new base at King Edward Point on South Georgia's northeast coast. The station was responsible for meteorological observations, which had been made since 1905 and continued throughout the whaling period.

In 1982, war intruded on South Georgia. On 25 March 1982, the Argentine naval vessel 'Bahía Paraíso' arrived at Leith Harbour and set up a garrison to try and take over Britain's claim of territorial sovereignty over South Georgia. After two hours of fighting, the Argentines captured the station. In response to the Argentine aggression, London sent off six Royal Navy ships. The force retook King Edward Point on 25 April 1982, and the Argentine garrison at Leith the next day.

South Georgia is a crescent-shaped island, measuring 170km long and 40km wide. It is made up of sharp, heavily glaciated peaks, with the highest point (Mt Paget) rising 2934m above sea level. The island covers 3755 sq km, with 57% of it being glaciated. Bird Island and the Willis Islands lie off South Georgia's northwest tip, Annenkov Island lies off the southwest coast, and Cooper Island off the east coast. The Clerk Rocks are 72km southeast. The weather on South Georgia is mostly cold, cloudy and windy, and there is very little difference between summer and winter.

More than 10 million macaroni penguins nest on the island. South Georgia's largest rookery, consisting of 100,000 King penguins, can be found on the gravel beach at St Andrews Bay. Many wandering albatrosses can be found on Albatross Island as well as Prion Island (in the Bay of Isles). The South Georgia pipit is the only songbird in Antarctica, and the South Georgia pintail is the world's only known carnivorous duck - these two birds can obviously only be found on South Georgia.