James Cook (1728-1779)

The British explorer James Cook was born in the village of Marton, Yorkshire, on 27 October, 1728. His family soon ____________ (move) to another village, called Great Ayton, where Cook _____________(spend) most of his childhood. As a teenager James Cook ______________ (develop) a fascination for the sea and _______________ (travel) to Whitby where he _____________ (find) employment on a coal ship. While he _______________ (serve) in the Royal Navy during the Seven Years' War (1756-1763), Cook _____________ (have) the command of a ship. Once the war _______________ (end), Cook _______________ (take) command of the vessel Grenville and _______________ (go) to Newfoundland to survey the coasts there. While he ________________ (map) the coasts of Newfoundland, he _______________ (observe) a solar eclipse off the North American coast. Cook _______________ (send) the details to the Royal Society, England's leading scientific organisation, and ________________ (win) their attention. After Cook _________________ (publish) his observations of the solar eclipse, the Royal Society ________________ (ask) him to lead a scientific expedition to Tahiti and ________________ (put) him in command of the HMS Endeavour. From Tahiti Cook then ________________ (go on) to explore the South Pacific. He also _________________ (reach) New Zealand, which only the Dutchman Abel Tasman ________________ (visit) before Cook. After Cook ______________ (map) New Zealand's complete coastline, he _______________ (sail) to Australia's east coast. Cook ______________ (name) the area New South Wales as it ______________ (remind) him of the south coast of Wales in Great Britain. In 1772, one year after Cook ______________ (return) from his first voyage to the Pacific, the Royal Society _____________ (hire) him for another expedition to find the mythical Terra Australis. On his journey, Cook ______________ (discover) several islands and almost __________ (go) as far as the continent of Antarctica. He ______________ (make) maps of the South Pacific and ___________(prove) that Terra Australis _____________(exist / not). His third and last voyage for the Royal Society ______________ (take) him to the west coast of North America where he _______________ (try) to find a passage between the Atlantic and Pacific. He ________________ (not / can / pass) the Bering Strait, however; the ice ______________(force) him to return to Hawaii, which he__________________ (discover) earlier. While he and his crew _______________ (rest) in Hawaii, some Hawaiians _____________ (steal) one of his boats. When cook and his men ________________ (try) to get the boat back from the natives, a violent fight ________________ (break out) in which the natives _________________ (stab) James Cook to death.