He thought this might link the Pacific and Atlantic across the top of North America. Cook set sail with the Resolution and Discovery and landed on a group of islands he called the Sandwich Islands (now known as Hawaii). TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE | Are you ready for the challenge now?
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Cook headed as far north as the Bering Strait before ice forced him back. He returned to the Sandwich Islands in January 1779, and was killed on February 14, during a skirmish with islanders over the theft of a boat. The expedition continued under Captain Charles Clerke who also died. The ships returned home in August 1780. Cook's legacy
Cook's voyages laid the foundations for British colonisation of New Zealand and Australia. He also finally laid the idea of a great southern continent to rest. Cook's mapping and scientific reporting added greatly to our knowledge of the peoples, natural history and geography of the Pacific. | 
Born in Marton on October 27, 1728. Died February 14, 1779.
