James Cook
James Cook was born in 1728 in England. He commanded three voyages of discovery
for Great Britain, and sailed around the world twice. He is considered to be
one of the world's greatest explorers.
In 1768 the British Navy sent him to Tahiti and to seek a southern continent.
He started his first voyage round the world. The trip to Tahiti was successful,
the search for the southern continent was not. Bu in 1769 Cook was the first
European to visit New Zealand.
In 1770 Cook claimed the eastern coast of New Holland, as Australia was known.
The name 'Australia' was not used until the beginning of the 19th
century.
Cook was the first ship commander to prevent the outbreak of scurvy by even
forcing his crew to eat fruit and vegetable.
On Cook's second journey he sailed farther south than any other European
before. He circled Antarctica in his famous ship "Resolution", but the ice
surrounding the continent prevented the sighting of land. The existence of the
Antarctica remained unproved until 1840. He returned to England in 1775 and
became a Captain.
In 1776 Cook set sail for his third voyage. His mission was to look for a
possible northern sea-route between Europe and Asia. In 1778 he became the
first known European to reach the Hawaiian Islands. Later in 1778 Cook sailed
through the Bering Strait and entered the Arctic Ocean. Great walls of ice
blocked the expedition, so Cook headed back for the Hawaiian Islands. On
February 14, 1779 Cook was stabbed to death by Hawaiian natives while investigating
the theft of a boat by an islander.
