Voyages of discovery
Captain James Cook
From humble beginnings on a Teesside farm James Cook went on to become one of the world's greatest explorers.
Born in Marton, near Middlesbrough on 27th October 1728 Cook might have been destined to follow in his father's footsteps and become a farm labourer - but Cook had other plans.
His love of the sea led him to become an apprentice seaman in Whitby at 18, and he then joined the Navy aged 27. Thanks to his excellent chart-making skills he was rapidly promoted and asked to take charge of the Endeavour in 1769 for his first round-the-world trip. This was to be the famous voyage to Australia and New Zealand.
Then in 1774 he set sail in the Resolution and became the first European to circle Antarctica but failed to spot land due to the surrounding polar ice.
Tragedy struck on his final voyage in the Resolution. Leaving England for the last time in 1776 he travelled to the Hawaiian Islands and then up the west coast of North America and through the Bering Straits. When the path was blocked with ice they turned back and on a return trip to Hawaii Cook was stabbed to death by natives.
Submitted by: Sarah McLusky, 03 April 2003
