Captain Cook Memorial Museum

The Museum is in the 17th century house in Grape Lane on Whitby's harbour where the young James Cook lodged as apprentice. It was here Captain Cook trained as a seaman, leading to his epic voyages of discovery. Whitby has a long tradition of seafaring dating back hundreds of years. His association with the town and his later feats of discovery are relived in the original house in which he lived.

He was born on 27 October 1728 at Marton-in-Cleveland. His father, originally from Scotland, was also called James and married Grace Pace from Cleveland. They had eight children, though several died young. When James was still a child, his father moved to Great Ayton, a few miles away near the Cleveland Hills, and became the foreman at Aireyholme Farm. .

In 1755 he joined the Royal Navy, and within two years passed his master's examination to qualify for the navigation and handling of a royal ship. He gained surveying experience in North American waters during the Seven Years War - as Britain and France fought for supremacy in North America - and spent the first years of peace between 1763 and 1767 charting the fog-shrouded coastline of Newfoundland.

Some Of Captain James Cook's achievments are chartered below:

Australia	Explored and charted the east coast
Canada	Charted St Laurence estuary and Newfoundland . Explored west coast during the 3rd Voyage
France	Along with France 's great explorers, Bougainville and La Perouse, explored the Pacific islands. France, at war with Britain during the 3rd Voyage, ordered her navy not to attack Cook.
Germany	The home of Johann Reinhold and Georg Forster, botanists on the 2nd Voyage.
Netherlands	Built on the work of many Dutch sailors who found Australia , especially Tasman who first sighted Tasmania and New Zealand .
New Zealand		Circumnavigated and charted New Zealand .
Russia		Third Voyage visited Kamchatka and Chukotka. Two of Cook's officers later served in the Russian navy. St. Petersburg holds extensive Cook collections.
Sweden		The home of Dr Daniel Solander, Swedish botanist who sailed on the 1st Voyage, and Anders Sparrman on the 2nd Voyage.
Switzerland		The artist Webber came from a Swiss family and trained in Paris and Berne .
Tahiti		The island where Cook observed the Transit of Venus.
U.S.A.		Explored Alaska , the Aleutian Islands and the Bering Strait on the third voyage, and died in Hawaii .

Visit the Captain Cook Memorial Museum website.

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