1779day.year
James Cook
(1728 - 1779)
English captain, cartographer, and explorer
English captain
cartographer
and explorer
British naval captain whose voyages charted vast areas of the Pacific, including New Zealand and eastern Australia.
Born in 1728 in Yorkshire, James Cook joined the Royal Navy and rose to prominence through his skill as a navigator and surveyor. He led three major voyages between 1768 and 1779 that greatly expanded European knowledge of the Pacific Ocean. Cook produced the first accurate maps of Newfoundland, New Zealand, and the eastern coast of Australia. He established contact with diverse Pacific Island cultures and conducted scientific observations, including astronomy and natural history. Cook was killed in 1779 during an altercation in Hawaii, but his legacy endures in the fields of exploration and cartography.
1779
James Cook