James Cook

Also known as Captain James Cook, Captain Cook, James Cooke, Cook, James, James Marton Cook

British explorer, cartographer and naval officer (1728–1779)

AI overview

James Cook was a British explorer and naval officer in the 1700s who is famous for leading voyages across the Pacific Ocean and mapping previously uncharted regions including parts of Australia, New Zealand, and Hawaii. His accurate charts and discoveries significantly expanded European knowledge of the Pacific world and made him one of history's most celebrated explorers.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Wikidata facts

Instance of: human
Given name: James
Family name: Cook
Gender: male
Citizenship: Kingdom of Great Britain
Place of birth: Marton
Place of death: Kealakekua Bay
Occupation: botanist
Languages spoken: French
Native language: English language
Participant in: third voyage of James Cook
Field of work: cartography
Military branch: Royal Navy
Military rank: captain
Image: Captainjamescookportrait.jpg
Significant event: death of James Cook

Show 16 more facts

Commons Creator page: James Cook
Commons category: James Cook
member of: Royal Society
date of birth: 1728-11-07
date of death: 1779-01-01
topic's main category: Category:James Cook
Commons gallery: James Cook
manner of death: homicide
name in native language: James Cook
ethnic group: English people
cause of death: stab wound
writing language: English language
has works in the collection: Memoria Chilena
P6944: James Cook
P8168: Hans Werner Olm
P12749: Friedrich Wilhelm Schneidewin

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Encyclopedic overview

Captain James Cook (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer who led three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans between 1768 and 1779. He completed the first recorded circumnavigation of the main islands of New Zealand, and led the first recorded visit by Europeans to the east coast of Australia and the Hawaiian Islands.

Cook joined the British merchant navy as a teenager before enlisting in the Royal Navy in 1755. He first saw combat during the Seven Years' War, when he fought in the Siege of Louisbourg. Later in the war he surveyed and mapped much of the entrance to the St. Lawrence River during the Siege of Quebec. In the 1760s he mapped the coastline of Newfoundland and made important astronomical observations which brought him to the attention of the Admiralty and the Royal Society. This acclaim came at a pivotal moment in British overseas exploration, and it led to his commission in 1768 as commander of HMS Endeavour for the first of his three voyages.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “James Cook” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.