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James Cook was born into a simple life on October 27, 1728. His home was a thatched cottage in Marton, England, and he lived there with his six siblings. His father was a lowly farm hand who did eventually manage to work his way up to become an overseer.
Cook received his basic education, and then worked as a laborer himself. His boss was a man named William Sanders, and he worked for him in the fishing village of Staithes. Cook loved the sea, but fishing was not his choice of work, and he soon became restless to sail the seas.
When Cook turned eighteen years old, he took to the sea by obtaining a job working on a collier, which was a ship that transported coal. He worked there for several years until 1755. The war with the French was in full swing, and James Cook enlisted as a seaman. Because of his hard work and intelligence, he was quickly promoted to the rank of Master's Mate within a month of his joining the naval service. And, in four short years, he attained the rank of Master. As the comander of his own ship, Cook first explored the Saint Lawrence River, and he made detailed charts and maps of his journey.
Upon James Cook's return to his homeland of England in 1762, he wed a woman by the name of Elizabeth Batts. It is interesting to note here that, during the Cooks' seventeen years of marriage, Mrs. Cook saw very little of her husband, as he was always off sailing on a new adventure. They did manage to have a family of six children, though.
In 1763, Cook took command of the "Grenville," and he and his crew sailed and explored the eastern coasts of Canada for four years. He mapped the Saint Lawrence River and later explored and charted the coast of Newfoundland. Cook's charts of this land were so detailed and exact, that they were used until the twentieth century.
Five years later, because of his previous successes, Captain Cook was selected to head yet another expedition, and he and his crew sailed on the "Endeavour." This time, he was ordered to observe the transit of Venus, as well as chart new lands in the Pacific Ocean. The party was successful, and they reached the island of Tahiti on June 3, 1769. The transit of Venus was observed, and the ship moved on to New Zealand, where they spent another six months exploring the region.
From there, the ship moved on to explore and successfully claim the lands of eastern Australia. Unfortunately, the success was not without loss. On the crew's return to England on June 12, 1771, by way of New Guinea, Java and the Cape of Good Hope, Cook had lost almost half of his crew to sickness. This loss was actually not surprising, as malnutrition was a common ailment on the high seas. But this loss of his crew's lives did spur the sea captain to review and institute an improved dietary plan and stringent health codes that he used on the rest of his trips. Cook forced his crew to eat vegetables in addition to their basic diet of salted pork and biscuits. He also stressed cleanliness on his ships. His plan worked so well, in fact, that other captains used it on their ships in order to help improve the crew's health.
Captain Cook went on to launch yet another trip the following year. His goal this time was to confirm the existence of the "Great Southern Continent." He and his crew boarded their ship the "Resolution" and they left Plymouth, along with another ship named the "Adventure," on July 13, 1772.
Try as they may, the ships were unable to break through the ice to reach the continent of Antarctica. Since Cook was unable to actually confirm its existence, he did continue to travel and explore around the area. From this exploration, he was able to reasonably prove that the continent consisted of nothing more than frigid temperatures and ice. James Cook also became the first man to cross the Antarctica Circle. Cook successfully charted New Hebrides, Easter Island, and many Pacific Islands during his voyage. Finally, the ships safely returned to England on July 29, 1775. Because of his valuable work, Captain James Cook was awarded the Copley Gold Medal and he was elected into the Royal Society.
Cook's third voyage to the Pacific would unfortunately be his final one. It began from Plymouth on July 12, 1776. They sailed in search of the Northwest Passage between the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. They sailed around the Cape of Good Hope and finally reached the west coast of America in 1778. They traveled along the coast to the Bering Sea. However, their attempt to pass through the Bering Strait was soon found to be impossible, as ice blocked the way. So, the sea captain sailed on to Hawaii so he and his crews could get ready for yet another try. The "Discovery" and the "Resolution" ended up in Kealakekua Bay in January of 1779. At first, the islanders looked upon Cook as being a god, and he was welcomed with much fanfare. But, after four weeks, and much trouble caused by stealing and fighting, relations between the natives and Cook and his crew were strained, and it was time to move on.
Captain Cook set out from Hawaii again, but was soon forced to return just one week later, when a storm damaged one of the ships. Unfortunately, this was the beginning of the end for Captain James Cook. The natives stole one of the ship's boats, and one of the watchmen were murdered as well. Cook had the High Chief kidnapped until the boat was returned. A fight began between the angry natives and Captain Cook and his crew, and Cook was killed.
There is a memorial to Captain James Cook at Great Saint Andrew's Church in Cambridge. The memorial reads: "In Memory of Captain James Cook, of the Royal Navy, one of the most celebrated Navigators, that this, or former Ages can boast of; who was killed by the natives of Owyhee, in the Pacific Ocean, on the 14th day February, 1779, in the 51st Year of his Age..."
Captain James Cook remarkably reached all seven continents during his lifetime, and even though he died before his work was done, he succeeded by living his dream: "...I had ambition not only to go farther than any one had been before, but as far as it was possible for man to go..."
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