James Cook, a British sailor and explorer (1728-1779). He commanded three important exploration voyages, during which many of the major islands of the Pacific, such as Australia, New Zealand and Hawaii, were identified and mapped. Cook’s courage to explore high-risk areas, such as the Antarctic Circle and the Great Barrier Reef area, the ability to lead people in difficult and skilled conditions in maritime, land surveying and mapping techniques, makes him one of the most successful explorers of his time. James Cook University was founded in honor to he in Townsville, Australia.

In 1769, the Royal Society commissioned Cook, to go to the Pacific to track down and record the passage of the Venus Planet from the sun. He chose the ship Endeavour for this trip. The 94-member of exploration Committee led by Cook left the port of Plymouth on August 26, 1768 and landed on Tahiti Island April 13, 1769. At the command of Cook, a small Fork and an observatory were made at the site. On June 3rd, the Venus Planet’s Transition Observation Mission to the Sun was successfully completed; However, due to lack of advanced scientific tools, precise measurement of this phenomenon was not possible.

In the eighteenth century there were scattered reports to Europeans that in the southern hemisphere, there is a large continent, called Terra Australis. The Royal Society, and in particular its member Alexander Dalrymple, believed in the existence of this land, and ordered Cook to search for the continent following the completion of the Venus Planet Earth Observation Mission.

Cook used a Tahitian known as Tupaia, who was familiar with the Pacific Ocean. With the help of him, they came to New Zealand and for the first time Cook mapped out all of the coastline of this island. In his map, there are only a few minor mistakes. (For example, the peninsula Banks is taken as a island, and Stewart island is part of the southern island). He also discovered the Strait of Cook, which separates North Island and New Zealand’s Isle; what the Abel Janszoon Tasman, in one century earlier didn’t recognized.

Cook then drifted westward to Australia, exploring the eastern coast. Explorers landed on the Gulf Coast, and for the first time they were given the opportunity to comment on Australian plants and beasts and meet with the Natives. This place, the first British colonial area in Australia, had a very varied vegetation; therefor Cook named it Botany Bay.

After leaving the Gulf, Cook continued his route along the coast to the north. An incident during the trip led to the discovery of the Great Barrier Reef. But on June 11, 1770, his ship stuck into one of these underwater cliffs. The ship saw a lot of damage from the collision and inevitably led the river mouth (now called Endeavor) in the northeast of Australia. The ship repair lasted about seven weeks. The exploratory team took this opportunity to examine the status of the local inhabitants and the plants and animals.

After preparing the ship, Cook drove back and crossed the Torres Strait between Australia and New Guinea, traversing the western route and bypassing the Cape of Good Hope and after about three years of voyage they returned to Britain. Cook’s notes were immediately published, and although he was a great hero in the scientific circles, he was more generally recognized by the nobleman botanist Joseph Banks.