James Cook
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Captain James Cook, FRS (October 27, 1728 (O.S.) – February 14, 1779) was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer. He made three voyages to the Pacific Ocean, accurately charting many areas and recording several islands and coastlines on European maps for the first time. His most notable accomplishments were the British discovery and claiming of the east coast of Australia, the European discovery of the Hawaiian Islands and the first mapping of Newfoundland and New Zealand.
During his lifetime, he sailed twice around the world, crossed the Antarctic Circle, discovered new islands and landscapes in North America / the South Pacific and could see that the Europeans had a false idea of the world. His trips were sense of the clearing up. On his discoveries in the unknown world, he spent a lot of time with science experiments, mapped new areas carefully, and wrote a lot of books. Today he counts as a good example of an ambitious and learned man with world knowledge.
Cook lived from 1728 – 1779. He was born on October 27, 1728 in Marton (York) as a son of a Scottish farmer. Since James was little, he dreamed of being captain on a ship and sailing around the world. After 18 years, Cook felt that he had to live his dreams, and that he must have another destiny than staying a farmer for the rest of his life. His career started as a seaman in the Royal Navy. But Cook was not just a normal seaman; he studied also nearby. That is how he received good knowledge in navigation and science. Because of his abilities, he was sent on three expeditions with the boat called Endeavour all over the world.
His goals on these missions were: to find the South continent (terra australis incognita), to make astronomical measures of Venus, to map and measure new lands, to take over the land “friendly” for the British King George III, to watch for good places for new military bases, and to find new passages between the Pacific and the Atlantic.
At the beginning, it was an honor to be on these expeditions, but sooner or later, money was the most important reason for doing his job. After his death, his wife inherited 70,000 gold coins.