Cook, James

Cook, James (1728–79). Usually referred to as Captain Cook, he was arguably the greatest ever maritime explorer. He established much of the basic geography of Australasia and the Pacific region, disposed of the myth of the southern continent, and learned how to keep his men free of scurvy. He used Harrison's chronometer and lunar distances to calculate longitudes accurately.

Cook was born in Yorkshire and apprenticed to a Whitby shipowner. In 1755 he entered the Royal Navy. Soon, his charts helped General Wolfe up the St Lawrence. Recognized as an expert navigator, he was chosen leader of the expedition in the Endeavour which took scientists to Tahiti to observe the transit of Venus in 1769. He also sought the reputed southern continent, circumnavigated the New Zealand islands, and explored the whole eastern coast of Australia. In the Resolution in 1772–5, Cook sailed round Antarctica and also discovered Tonga and the New Hebrides. A third major expedition in 1776–9 was to the North Pacific to find the end of the North‐West Passage. He did not, but he did discover the Hawaiian Islands, where on a second visit he lost his life in a fracas with some natives over a stolen boat.