author
David Samwell
1751–1798
A Welsh naval surgeon, poet, and lively witness to the age of exploration, he is best remembered for sailing with Captain James Cook on the third voyage and for leaving behind one of the key 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 Nantglyn, Denbighshire, in 1751, David Samwell studied medicine in London before joining the Royal Navy. He served on Cook’s third voyage, eventually becoming surgeon aboard HMS Discovery, and his experiences at sea made him an important firsthand observer of a famous moment in Pacific exploration.
Samwell later wrote A Narrative of the Death of Captain James Cook, a source that historians still value for its eyewitness detail. He was also a poet and a committed supporter of Welsh literary and cultural life, writing under the bardic name Dafydd Ddu Feddyg.
Alongside his naval work, he remained closely involved with Welsh circles in London and is remembered as a figure who moved easily between science, travel, and literature. He died in London in 1798.