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David Samwell
1751–1798
A Welsh naval surgeon, poet, and close observer of the age of exploration, he is best remembered for sailing with Captain James Cook on the final voyage. His writing preserves both the human side of life at sea and one of the most important firsthand accounts of Cook’s death.
1 Audiobook
A Narrative of the Death of Captain James Cook
by David Samwell
About the author
Born in 1751 in North Wales, David Samwell trained in medicine and served as surgeon’s mate, then surgeon, in the Royal Navy. He sailed on HMS Discovery during Captain James Cook’s third voyage to the Pacific, a journey that placed him at the center of one of the era’s defining expeditions.
Samwell is especially remembered for his detailed account of Cook’s death in Hawaiʻi in 1779, written from direct experience. Beyond his naval service, he was also known as a poet writing in Welsh and English, which gives his legacy an unusual mix of scientific duty, travel narrative, and literary talent.
He died in 1798, but his name endures through the journals and reflections that help modern readers see Cook’s world through the eyes of someone who was actually there.