History
No evidence of human habitation on Socorro exists before its discovery by Spanish explorers. Hernando de Grijalva and his crew discovered an uninhabited island on December 28, 1533 and named it Isla de los Inocentes, only nine days after the discovery of Santo Tomé island. The description and location may correspond to that of San Benedicto. In 1542, Ruy González de Villalobos, while exploring new routes across the Pacific, rediscovered Inocentes and renamed it Isla Anublada ("Cloudy Island") due to the clouds frequently forming on the northern slopes of Mount Evermann, and again in 1608, Martín Yañez de Armida, in charge of another expedition, visited Santo Tomé and changed its name to Isla Socorro after Our Lady of Perpetual Help (Virgen del Perpetuo Socorro).
At the beginning of the twentieth century, Barton Warren Evermann, director of the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco promoted the scientific exploration of the island. The most comprehensive biological collections were obtained at this time. The volcano on Socorro was renamed in his honor.
In September 1997, the island was struck by Hurricane Linda, one of the strongest hurricanes ever recorded.
Read more about this topic: Socorro Island
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—Peter B. Medawar (1915–1987)