James Cook's First Voyage

In 1768, the Royal Navy and Royal Society dispatched Lieutenant James Cook aboard HMS Endeavour to observe the 1769 transit of Venus from Tahiti and search for the theorized Terra Australis. Accompanied by botanist Joseph Banks and artist Sydney Parkinson, Cook rounded Cape Horn, charted New Zealand's coastline, and mapped Australia's eastern seaboard. The nearly three-year circumnavigation produced extensive botanical collections, astronomical data, and navigational charts. Cook returned to England in July 1771.