author
James King
1750–1784
A naval officer and explorer, he helped bring Captain Cook’s final voyage to print and left behind one of the key firsthand accounts of that expedition. His story blends seamanship, science, and the age of Pacific exploration.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born in 1750 at Clitheroe, Lancashire, James King served in the Royal Navy and became closely associated with Captain James Cook’s third voyage. He joined the expedition in 1776, worked as an officer on Resolution, and was especially valued for his astronomical and navigational skill.
After Cook’s death in Hawaiʻi in 1779, King took on greater responsibility and later helped prepare the official account of the voyage, including the final volume of A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean. That work became an important source for readers interested in exploration, navigation, and the Pacific world.
King was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1782 and died in 1784 in Nice, still a young man. Though his life was short, his writing and editorial work helped preserve the record of one of the most famous voyages of the eighteenth century.