1-628-259 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Captain James Cook, 18th century British navigator and explorer. Captain Cook (1728-1779) in naval uniform, seated, with his hand resting on a map of the world. Cook made three voyages of discovery. On the first he observed the transit of Venus and charted the coasts of New Zealand and eastern Australia, claiming them for Britain, and on the second he explored the Southern Ocean. The main objective of his last voyage was to find a northern sea passage between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. He was killed when a fight broke out with natives in Hawaii. Found in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery.