author
James King
1750–1784
An officer, explorer, and scientific observer, he helped complete the published account of Captain Cook’s final voyage. His writing offers a firsthand view of 18th-century exploration at sea.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born in 1750 at Clitheroe, Lancashire, James King was a Royal Navy officer who also became known as a travel writer and editor. He served under Captain James Cook on the third voyage to the Pacific and was trusted with important astronomical observations used in navigation.
After Cook’s death in Hawaiʻi in 1779, King took on greater responsibility during the expedition and later helped prepare the official published narrative of the voyage. He is especially associated with the third volume of A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean (1784), which helped shape how readers in Britain understood the expedition and its discoveries.
King was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, reflecting the scientific side of his work as well as his naval career. He died in 1784 in Nice, France, not long after the voyage narrative appeared, leaving behind a reputation tied to both exploration and the written record of one of the 18th century’s most famous voyages.