James Cook

James Cook (October 27, 1728 – February 14, 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, and map maker. He made three voyages to the Pacific Ocean, in which its main shorelines were mapped. His most notable accomplishments were the discoveries of the east coast of Australia and the Hawaiian Islands, and the mapping of New Zealand.

Conclusion

James Cook's eleven years sailing around the Pacific Ocean contributed much to the European knowledge of this vast area. In the course of these voyages several islands such as Easter Island and the Sandwich Islands were encountered for the first time by Europeans; his more accurate navigational charting of large areas of the Pacific was to prove a major achievement.

Related Topics:
Pacific Ocean - Easter Island - Sandwich Islands - Navigation

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For accurate mapping, the latitude and longitude of the land needs to be known. Navigators had been able to work out latitude accurately for centuries by measuring the distance of the sun or a star above the horizon with a quadrant. But longitude was more difficult to measure accurately as it needs a measurement of time. The Earth turns a full 360 degrees about its axis (one sidereal day) once every 24 hours; or at least, very nearly so, the actual time taken being 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4.091 seconds. This converts to approximately 15 degrees every hour and 1 degree every 4 minutes. So, by calculating the time difference from one's starting point at noon, when the sun is exactly on the meridian, one can calculate the longitude.

Related Topics:
Latitude - Longitude - Navigator - The sun - Quadrant - The Earth - Degrees - Axis - One sidereal day - Hours - Minutes - Noon

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Cook obtained accurate longitude measurements during his first voyage due to his navigational skills, the help of an astronomer Charles Green and by using the newly published Nautical Almanac tables, which contained distances between the moon and seven selected stars. However on his second voyage Cook used John Harrison?s Chronometer, which was the first clock to keep accurate time at sea.

Related Topics:
Longitude - Charles Green - Nautical Almanac - The moon - John Harrison?s - Chronometer - Clock - Sea

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Cook took with him on his voyages many scientists, whose observations and discoveries added to the importance of the voyages. Joseph Banks, a botanist, came on the first voyage along with the fellow botanists Daniel Solander from Sweden and Herman Spöring from Finland. Between them they collected over 3,000 plant species, of which around 1,000 were new species. Also they made notes on animals such as kangaroos.

Related Topics:
Joseph Banks - Botanist - Daniel Solander - Herman Spöring

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There were several artists on the first voyage. Sydney Parkinson was involved in many of the drawings, completing 264 drawings before his death near the end of the voyage. Banks employed several other artists to finish nearly 600 drawings which Parkinson had started. These drawings were of immense scientific value to botanists in Britain. Cook's second expedition included the artist William Hodges, who produced notable landscape paintings of Tahiti, Easter Island, and other locations visited on the voyage.

Related Topics:
Botanists - William Hodges - Landscape - Painting - Tahiti - Easter Island

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In the field of anthropology, Cook was the first European to have an extensive contact with the various people of the Pacific. He correctly observed that these people seemed closely related although separated by thousands of kilometres of ocean.

Related Topics:
Anthropology - Kilometres

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In the medical world it was Cook's prevention of any death from scurvy that was seen to be so remarkable. In fact a medical journal said that Cook?s success in keeping his crews alive "added more to his fame, and is supposed to have given a more useful lesson to maritime nations, than all the discoveries he ever made".

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