Louis Antoine de Bougainville (1729-1811), French naval officer and navigator sent to explore the seas between the East Indies and the west coast of America in 1767. In 1768 he sailed in Solomon Islands and Louisiade Archipelago waters. He was the first European to sight Rossel, Choiseul, and Bougainville islands, all of which he named. He investigated New Britain and New Ireland and returned to Europe via the Dutch East Indies. His journey is recorded in A Voyage Round the World, 1766-9, J.R. Forster (ed), published in Dublin in 1772.