The Eva G.R. Taylor Memorial Lecture: Some Problems of Cook’s Biographer

Abstract

The theme of this lecture is the inadequacy of James Cook’s first biography. Rev. Andrew Kippis, used the seven volumes of the officially published Voyages as his main source, and did not use any contemporary sources such as Cook’s sister, people in the Whitby coal trade or those who knew him as a youth. Nor did he undertake research into correspondence and journals held by the Admiralty. He goes on to speculate on a number of issues: leaving the coal trade to join the Royal Navy; his training as a surveyor; the selection of Endeavour for his first voyage.

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Filed under: James Cook | North Sea | Other (Eighteenth C) | Pacific
Subjects include: Administration | Biography | Science & Exploration