James T. Kirk

James Tiberius Kirk (William Shatner) was captain of two Starships Enterprise (NCC-1701 and NCC-1701-A) in the fictional Star Trek universe. He was the leading character in the and the films based on it, first appearing in the episode "Where No Man Has Gone Before". His Starfleet serial number was SC 937-0176 CEC.

Biography

Early years

Virtually nothing regarding Kirk's birth has been established in on-screen canon, except for the fact that he was born in Iowa in what is today the United States. One speculated birthplace for Kirk is Riverside, Iowa, though other real-life towns in the state have laid claim to the future Enterprise captain. His birthdate has never been officially established, but fanon speculation suggests March 22, 2233, based upon the real-life birthdate and age of actor William Shatner.

Related Topics:
Canon - Iowa - United States - Riverside, Iowa - Fanon - March 22 - 2233 - William Shatner

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While a youth on Tarsus IV, he was one of only nine surviving witnesses to the massacre of 4,000 colonists because of utilitarian extermination by Kodos the Executioner so that the colony could survive a devastating famine.

Related Topics:
Tarsus IV - Kodos the Executioner

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Early career

He had a distinguished career in Starfleet Academy, becoming the first person to defeat the Kobayashi Maru test that stymied cadets for many decades, even until the 2370s. Whereas any situation would be met by the simulator's overriding dictate that the cadet lose, Kirk won by rewriting the program to allow him to rescue the Kobayashi Marus crew. For this he received a commendation for original thinking.

Related Topics:
Starfleet Academy - Kobayashi Maru - 2370s

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Kirk began his Starfleet career as a Cadet in 2250. While still a student at the Academy, Kirk was granted a field commission as an Ensign and posted to advanced training aboard the USS Republic in the year 2251. He was promoted to Lieutenant Junior Grade in 2253 and returned to Starfleet Academy as a student instructor. Kirk developed a reputation as a "stack of books with legs" and it was said that in his class "you either think...or sink."

Related Topics:
Cadet - 2250 - Ensign - USS ''Republic'' - 2251 - Lieutenant Junior Grade - 2253

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Upon his graduation from Starfleet Academy in 2254, Kirk was promoted to a full Lieutenant and served aboard the USS Farragut, NCC-1647. Kirk gained a tremendous amount of experience onboard the Farragut, commanding his first planet survey and also surviving a deadly attack by a gas cloud alien, in which a large portion of the Farragut's crew (including Captain Garrovick) were killed.

Related Topics:
Starfleet Academy - 2254 - Lieutenant - NCC - Captain Garrovick

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James Kirk's career between 2254 and 2263 has never been established in the Star Trek universe; however fanon has conjectured that he was promoted to Lieutenant Commander sometime around 2255. Further theories also hold that Kirk was promoted to Commander in 2260 and assigned as the Officer-in-Charge for the Enterprise Refit Overhaul, where the ship was completely redesigned and refitted following ten years of space duty under Captain Christopher Pike. Such duties would have made Kirk the ideal choice to become the next Commander of the Enterprise, which he was appointed in 2263 with a promotion to Captain upon Pike's promotion to Fleet Captain.

Related Topics:
2254 - 2263 - Fanon - Lieutenant Commander - 2255 - Commander - 2260 - Christopher Pike - Captain - Fleet Captain

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Captaincy and Admiralty

Kirk became the second official captain of the USS Enterprise, NCC-1701. According to ' which is not considered canonical, however, he was the third, following in the footsteps of Captain Robert April who predated Pike as captain of the vessel. Kirk commanded the Enterprise's historic five year mission from 2264-2269. Upon completion of the Enterprise's mission, he was promoted to Rear Admiral (apparently having skipped the rank of Commodore) and assigned as Chief of Starfleet Operations while the Enterprise under went a 2½-year refit.

Related Topics:
USS ''Enterprise'', NCC-1701 - Robert April - 2264 - 2269 - Rear Admiral - Commodore

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In 2272, to combat the V'Ger Crisis, Admiral Kirk accepted temporary command of the Enterprise over Captain/Cmdr Willard Decker who oversaw its refit while in dry dock. After the subsequent disappearance of Decker, Kirk appeared to take command of the vessel. It has long been suggested in fanon that a second five-year mission of the Enterprise followed, however this has never been established in the canon. Nor has speculation that Kirk accepted a voluntary reduction to the permanent rank of Captain for this mission ever been made official. Between 2272 and 2284, therefore, the details of Kirk's career are officially unknown (these dates are, themselves, speculative). What is official is that Kirk retired from Starfleet sometime around 2282 (Star Trek Generations) and returned to Starfleet, appointed as an Admiral, in 2284. (According to some sources, including the producers of the film, and costume designers, Kirk's rank is Vice Admiral, however as this has never been stated on screen, by strict guidelines of canon all we know officially is that his rank was Admiral).

Related Topics:
2272 - V'Ger - Willard Decker - 2284 - 2282 - Star Trek Generations

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By 2284, Kirk was in command of Starfleet Academy's training department and briefly took command of the Enterprise in order to pursue his old enemy, Khan Noonien Singh, and retained de facto command of the vessel following the death of Captain Spock. He was later demoted back to Captain after stealing the Enterprise and sabotaging the USS Excelsior NX-2000 in 2285 in order to revive Spock. Kirk was given control of a new USS Enterprise, NCC-1701-A, which he commanded for several years until the vessel was decommissioned ca. 2293.

Related Topics:
2284 - Khan Noonien Singh - Captain Spock - USS ''Excelsior'' - 2285 - NCC-1701-A - 2293

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With Carol Marcus, he had a son named David, who was killed by Klingons in 2285. He recorded in his log years later that he could never forgive them for the death of his son. This recording was used as evidence against him when a Klingon court convicted him of murdering Klingon Chancellor Gorkon in 2293; he was sentenced to a life term in the prison mines of Rura Penthe but was subsequently rescued and cleared of guilt.

Related Topics:
Carol Marcus - Klingons - 2285 - Gorkon - 2293 - Rura Penthe

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Death and Shatnerverse

In 2294 he was lost (and presumed dead) when the Enterprise-B was damaged by the Nexus Of Joy, through which he entered. In this alternate plane of existence, he was persuaded by Captain Picard from the year 2371 to return to planet Veridian III in the "real" universe and stop Tolian Soran from sacrificing 283 million lives in order for him to reenter the Nexus. During the final battle with Soran, Kirk was killed and his remains were buried on Veridian III by Picard.

Related Topics:
2294 - ''Enterprise''-B - The Nexus Of Joy - Picard - 2371 - Veridian III - Tolian Soran

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Shortly after , William Shatner and co-writers Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens wrote a series of non-canon novels taking place after the events in the movie (nicknamed the "Shatnerverse"), bringing Kirk back from the dead, much like mainstream comic books.

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In the novel ' - Shortly after the events in ', a Romulan ship transports the body of Captain Kirk from Veridian III. The Romulans, having a vendetta against Kirk, use an "ancient alien technology" to bring him back, turning Kirk into a puppet for the Romulans. Kirk faces off against several characters from before being subdued, and is treated by Spock and Dr. McCoy, who are still alive in the 24th century.

Related Topics:
Romulan - Veridian III - Spock - Dr. McCoy - 24th century

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Kirk meets with Picard once more, and goes on to destroy the Borg homeworld located in the Delta Quadrant, disabling the Collective (albeit temporarily). He is presumed dead in the final explosion, but is transported away at the last second.

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Events in the Shatnerverse continue in "Avenger", then in a Mirror Universe trilogy ("Spectre", "Dark Victory", and "Preserver"), then in another trilogy set close to the events of Nemesis ("Captain's Peril", "Captain's Blood", and "Captain's Glory"). During the course of these novels, Kirk has a son named Joseph.

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