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1728-1736
1728-36 James Cook was born on October 27, 1728 and lived in Marton, England. He was baptised on November 3rd, 1728 in a church in St. Cuthbert, Marton. -
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Early Years
James Cook was born in Marton, England during 1728. He was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer. A lot of the time, he is called the greatest explorer of the 18th Century. This is because of his voyages to the Pacific Ocean and how he used science to help with his exploration and mapmaking. -
1736-1745
Cook’s father got a job at Aireyholme Farm near Great Ayton. Cook’s family moved to Great Ayton, where he went to the local school for the next eight years. When he left he went to work at the farm in Great Ayton. -
1745-1746
Cook left Great Ayton and went to Staithes. Cook was apprenticed and went to work for William Sanderson, haberdasher and grocer of Staithes. -
1746-1755
James Cook moved to Whitby seeking a seafaring life. Cook was apprenticed to John Walker, a Whitby shipowner. He sailed several ships there, which released him from his apprenticeship and he became a mate. -
1755
Cook joined the Royal Navy and saw active service in the English Channel and Atlantic. -
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Canada
James Cook -
1758-1761
During the Seven Years War, Cook sailed with the fleet to Canada where he learned to survey and assisted with the charting of the St. Lawrence River which helped with the siege and fall of Quebec.
Cook spent the next couple winters and the entire year of 1761 in Halifax making charts of the town and harbour. -
1762
Cook returned to England and married Elizabeth Batts. -
1763-1767
Cook surveyed the coast of Newfoundland during the summer periods, returning to Great Britain for the winters. -
1768
Cook led an expedition to the South Seas to observe the Transit of Venus and to secretly search for the unknown Great Southern Continent.
Cook, with his crew of nearly 100 men, left Plymouth in the Endeavour and travelled via Madeira, Rio de Janiero and Tierra del Fuego to Tahiti. -
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First Voyage
James Cook -
1769
On Tahiti, Cook finished his first task, which was to observe the Transit of Venus, on June 3. Then, he sailed around the Society Islands during July-August and searched for the southern continent before heading for New Zealand. -
1769-1770
During October of 1769 to February of 1770, Cook navigated all the way around New Zealand and discovered that it consisted of two islands. He charted them both. -
1770
During April-August, The Endeavour sailed toward the north along the east side of Australia. On June 10, the ship struck the Great Barrier Reef was damaged badly. Repaired were carried out in Endeavour River. Cook sighted the first kangaroo, recorded it and shot it. -
1770-1771
The Endeavour arrived for repair at Batavia, Java. The crew had been healthy before, but over thirty of them caught fever and many died there or on the return trip via Cape Town to Britain.
The Transit of Venus was recorded during the voyage and well put away the belief in a Southern Continent. With the charts that cook recorded of New Zealand and the east coast of Australia, scientists and artists made unique records of the people. -
1772
In July, The Resolution, commanded by James Cook, and The Discovery, commanded by Lieutenant Furneaux, set sail from Britain, via Madiera and Cape Town, South Africa, towards the Antarctic in search of the Great Southern Continent. -
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Second Voyage
James Cook -
1773
On January 17, the ships became the first recorded to cross the Antarctic Circle but became separated in fog. The ships agreed to meet in New Zealand and set off to explore the central Pacific, going to Tahiti and Amsterdam and Middelburg, which Cook called the Friendly Islands. The ships got separated and never met again. In November, both ships sailed separately to New Zealand. -
1774
On November 1773-October 1774, Cook went to search for the southern continent again, crossing the Antarctic Circle. However, he was forced to go north again because of the cold and ice. Cook sailed to Easter Island, the Marquesas Islands, Tuamotu Islands and Tahiti, New Hebrides, New Caledonia, and Norfolk Island, before arriving at New Zealand. -
1774-1775
Cook returned to Britain via the Southern Ocean, and arrived at Tierra del Fuego in December. In January 1775, he set sail for Cape Town. After charting down the South Sandwich Islands, he arrived at Cape Town in Late 1775.
When he returned, Cook was presented to the King, made a member of the Royal Society, promoted to post-captain and appointed a captain of the Royal Hospital for Seamen at Greenwich. He wrote up his account of the voyage. -
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Third Voyage
James Cook was the first European to sail and chart the eastern coastline of Australia, he mapped some parts of the Pacific Ocean, discovered the Hawaiian islands, became the first to cross the Antarctic circle, navigated the whole way around the North and South Island of New Zealand and charted them. -
1776
Cook sailed in The Resolution, now repaired, to search for the North West Passage. He met with the Discovery at Cape Town and set sail for New Zealand on December 1. -
1777
Cook visited Tasmania, New Zealand and the Cook Islands during January-March, and visited the Tongan Islands and Tahiti in April-December. -
1778
Cook sailed to the Hawaiian islands, Oregon and Nootka Sound and then begain searching for the North-West Passage off Alaska, the Aleutian Islands, the Arctic and the north-east coast of Russia. -
1779
Cook went to take the Hawaiian king in custody waiting for the return of the cutter, but a fight formed.Cook was killed on Kealakekua Bay, Hawaii on February 14, along with four of his men and some natives. -
1779-1780
Charles Clerke took command of the expedition. The Resolution and Discovery explored the other Hawaiian islands before continuing the search for the North-West Passage. They visited Kamchatka and the Arctic and sailed back to Britain via Macao and the Cape of Good Hope. -
1779
On January 16, Cook anchored on Kealakekua Bay in the Hawaiian Islands. The Hawaiians welcomed them in more than 1000 canoes, and their relation seemed good. However, on February 11, Cook was forced to return to Kealakekua Bay because his ship had been damaged and needed repairs. This time, the Hawaiians were not as friendly and stole the Discovery’s cutter. -
1780
News of James Cook’s death reached Britain in January before the Resolution and Discovery arrived back in England during October. The voyage was written up and published and Cook’s life was slowly remembered in articles, books, medals and monuments.
The achievements of the voyage were overshadowed by the deaths of both Cook and his second-in-command, Charles Clerke. The main purpose of the voyage, the discovery of the Northwest Passage, was not realised but large tracts of the Pacific and Arctic
