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James Cook

British Royal Navy officer who mapped much of the Pacific and Southern Oceans.

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James Cook

via Wikipedia: James Cook · see source

James Cook was born on 7 November 1728 in Marton, Yorkshire, the second of eight children of a Scottish farm labourer and his wife.[1] He began his maritime career as a merchant navy apprentice in the coal trade, later joining the Royal Navy in 1755.[2][3]

James Cook NZ Bicentennial Silver Medal by James Berry
James Cook NZ Bicentennial Silver Medal by James Berry. Image: Berlin-George · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Life and work

Cook relocated to Staithes at age 16 to apprentice as a shopboy, but after 18 months he travelled to Whitby and was introduced to ship owners John and Henry Walker.[4] After completing his apprenticeship, he worked on Baltic merchant ships and obtained his mariner licence in 1752, serving as mate on the collier Friendship.[5] During the Seven Years' War, he served as master in North America, charting the St. Lawrence River and producing his first engraved map of Gaspé Bay in 1758.[6][7] Cook was appointed to chart Newfoundland from 1763 to 1767, and he precisely recorded a solar eclipse in 1766, sending results to astronomer John Bevis.[8][9]

Bay of Islands New Zealand (by Captain James Cook, 1773)
Bay of Islands New Zealand (by Captain James Cook, 1773). Image: Cook, James, 1728-1779; McIntosh, Alister Donald Miles (Sir), 1906-1978 · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

His first scientific voyage (1768–1771) aboard HMS Endeavour observed the transit of Venus in Tahiti, charted New Zealand and eastern Australia, and ended with the ship returning to England in July 1771.[10][11][12][13][9] Cook's second voyage (1772–1775) crossed the Antarctic Circle and disproved the existence of the hypothesized southern continent Terra Australis.[14][15][16]

Book written by James Cook, Canterbury Museum, 2016-01-27
Book written by James Cook, Canterbury Museum, 2016-01-27. Image: Szilas · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

What the cited sources add

Collingridge 2003 provides information on Cook's birth, his family's relocation to Great Ayton, and his apprenticeship with the Walkers.[1][4][2]

Captain James Cook (History of Oregon)
Captain James Cook (History of Oregon). Image: Joseph Gaston · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Captain James Cook, PA05641
Captain James Cook, PA05641. Image: Armstrong, Cosmo (British engraver, active 1800-1836) (artist) (graphic artist) · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Captain James Cook, F.R.S. LCCN2002699852
Captain James Cook, F.R.S. LCCN2002699852. Image: Miscellaneous Items in High Demand, PPOC, Library of Congress · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

References

  1. Wikipedia, "James Cook" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: {{Multiref | . | . }}; {{Multiref | . | . }}; {{Multiref | . | . }}; Collingridge 2003, p. 15 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "James Cook" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Collingridge 2003, p. 15 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "James Cook" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: {{Multiref| | . | . | . }}; {{Multiref | . | . }}; {{Multiref | . | . }} (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "James Cook" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Rigby van der Merwe 2002, p. 25 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "James Cook" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; Beaglehole 1974, p. 28 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "James Cook" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Hough 1994, p. 14–23; {{Multiref | . | . }} (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "James Cook" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Hough 1994, p. 14–23; {{Multiref | . | . }}; Beaglehole 1974, p. 28; {{Multiref | . | . }}; {{Multiref | . | . }} (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "James Cook" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Beaglehole 1974, p. 28; {{Multiref | . | . }}; Whiteley 1975; Whiteley 1975 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "James Cook" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: {{Multiref | . | . }}; {{Multiref | . | . }} (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  10. Wikipedia, "James Cook" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Thomas 2003, p. 391; Hough 1994, p. 14–23; {{Multiref | . | . | . }} (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  11. Wikipedia, "James Cook" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Salmond 2004, p. 64–79; Thomas 2003, p. 391 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  12. Wikipedia, "James Cook" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Hough 1994, p. 14–23; Salmond 1991, p. 123–134,145-146,252; {{Multiref| .| .| .}} (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  13. Wikipedia, "James Cook" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Blainey 2020, p. 1-10; {{Multiref | . | . }}; Hough 1994, p. 14–23; Thomas 2003, p. 391 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  14. Wikipedia, "James Cook" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: {{Multiref | . | . | . }}; Beaglehole 1974, p. 28 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  15. Wikipedia, "James Cook" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Hough 1994, p. 14–23; {{Multiref | . | . }}; Hough 1994, p. 14–23; Thomas 2003, p. 391; Hough 1994, p. 14–23 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  16. Wikipedia, "James Cook" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: {{Multiref | . | . }} (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article James Cook (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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