The mountain was discovered by Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd on an airplane flight, November 18, 1934, and named by him for Mabelle E. Sidley, the daughter of William Horlick who was a contributor to the 1933–35 Byrd Antarctic Expedition.[4] Despite its height, the volcano's extremely remote location means that it is little known even in the mountaineering world compared to the much more accessible Mount Erebus, the second highest Antarctic volcano which is located near the U.S. and New Zealand bases on Ross Island.