South Georgia issued a map stamp in 1963 showing the islands of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. Both South Georgia and the southern eight islands of the Sandwich Islands Group were discovered by Captain James Cook in 1775.  The northern three islands of the Sandwich Islands Group were discovered in 1819 by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshousen.
     In 1778 Cook discovered the Hawaiian Islands and named them the Sandwich Islands also. So, to distinguish between the two "Sandwich Islands," the word "South" was added to the first group to distinguish it from the later group.
     The South Sandwich Islands are between 350 and 500 miles South of South Georgia. If the island of South Georgia is 106 miles long it appears to be only a little more than that distant from the South Sandwich Islands.