James Cook

1728-1779

Captain, Fellow of the Royal Society.

British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy. Cook sailed thousands of miles across largely uncharted areas of the globe particularly around the Pacific and Australia producing charts in greater detail than had previously been available. Cook was killed in 1779 by Hawaiian islanders.

"...ambition leads me not only farther than any other man has been before me, but as far as I think it possible for man to go..."