James Cook

Hello! My name is James Cook, and I was one of the world's great explorers. I wasn't born a sailor, though. I was born on October 27th, 1728, in a small village in Yorkshire, England. My father was a farm worker, and as a boy, I spent more time in fields than on ships. But I always dreamed of the sea. When I was a teenager, I moved to a fishing village and started working for a shopkeeper. From the window, I could see the tall ships sailing in and out of the harbor, and I knew that was the life for me!

At age 26, in the year 1755, I decided to join the Royal Navy. It was hard work, but I loved it. I learned everything I could about sailing, navigating by the stars, and, most importantly, map-making. Drawing accurate maps, or charts, was my special talent. During a conflict called the Seven Years' War, I was sent to North America. My detailed maps of the St. Lawrence River helped the British forces. My hard work and skill with charts got me noticed, and soon I was given a very important job: command of my own ship for a scientific voyage.

In August of 1768, I set sail as commander of a sturdy ship called HMS Endeavour. Our first mission was for science! We sailed all the way to the island of Tahiti in the Pacific Ocean to watch the planet Venus pass in front of the Sun in 1769. It was a very important event for astronomers. But I had secret orders, too. I was told to search for a giant, unknown southern continent that people called Terra Australis Incognita, which means 'Unknown Southern Land.' We sailed south from Tahiti into uncharted waters, ready for whatever we might find.

We didn't find a giant continent, but we did find other amazing lands. In 1769, we reached New Zealand. I became the first European to sail all the way around its two main islands, creating the first complete and accurate map of the country's coastline. Then, in April of 1770, we sailed west and landed on the southeast coast of a massive land. We were the first known Europeans to explore this eastern shoreline. I named it New South Wales and claimed it for Great Britain. Our ship's naturalist, Joseph Banks, was thrilled by all the strange new plants and animals we discovered there!

My adventures didn't stop there! On my second voyage, from 1772 to 1775, I sailed farther south than any European had ever gone before. In January of 1773, my ship, the Resolution, became the first to cross the Antarctic Circle. We were surrounded by giant icebergs, but we never saw the continent of Antarctica itself. On my third voyage, which began in 1776, I sailed north, searching for a sea route called the Northwest Passage. During that trip, in 1778, I also became the first European to visit a beautiful group of islands in the middle of the Pacific, which you now know as Hawaii.

My exploring days came to an end during my third voyage in Hawaii in the year 1779. I lived to be 50 years old. I am proud of the voyages I made and the things I accomplished. My maps completely changed how people understood the world, especially the vast Pacific Ocean. I filled in huge blank spaces on the globe and introduced the world to new lands, peoples, and natural wonders. Today, I am remembered as a navigator and a cartographer who helped connect the world.