Captain James Cook
James Cook, portrait by Sir Nathaniel Dance-Holland, c. 1775, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich
|Born||7 November [O.S. 27 October] 1728
Marton, Yorkshire, England
|Died||14 February 1779 (aged 50)
Kealakekua Bay, Hawaii
|Education||Postgate School, Great Ayton|
|Occupation||Explorer, navigator, cartographer|
Captain James Cook, FRS (27 October 1728 – 14 February 1779) was an English explorer, navigator, and cartographer. He made three voyages to the Pacific Ocean, mapping many areas and recording several islands and coastlines on European maps for the first time. He is most notable for the British finding the east coast of Australia, finding the Hawaiian Islands and the first mapping of Newfoundland and New Zealand.
During his lifetime, he sailed twice around the world. He crossed the Antarctic Circle and found new islands and landscapes in North America and the South Pacific. During his trips, he spent a lot of time on science experiments, and mapping new areas. He also wrote a lot of books about what he found.
He was also the first British commander to prevent his crew from getting scurvy by giving them citrus fruit and sauerkraut.
(edited from source)