History of Fanning Island

At some 900 miles distant, Tabuaeran is one of the closest landfalls to the Hawaiian Islands, and the atoll was possibly used as a stopover by the Polynesians who first settled Hawaiʻi. Artifacts have been discovered that indicate possible early settlements by people from Polynesia—probably the Cook Islands or Tonga.

Historically the first recorded mariner to sight Tahanea atoll was American captain Edmund Fanning of the American ship Betsy on June 11, 1798, and was named for him. At the time, the atoll was