Person    | Male  Born 7/11/1728  Died 14/2/1779

Captain James Cook

Maritime explorer and cartographer. Born near Middlesbrough. The first to map Newfoundland, explored around Australia and the Hawaiian Islands and made the first circumnavigation of New Zealand.

Killed in Kealakekua Bay by Hawaiian villagers during a fracas concerning the theft of one of Cook's small boats. Cook was held in high esteem by the chiefs so his body was given the same funeral rites that one of their elders would have received. It was disembowelled, baked and the bones cleaned. Following appeals from his comrades the remains were eventually returned for burial at sea.

2024: Cook has become a controversial figure, representing all the worst of imperialism. The Daily Mail reported "Captain Cook statue is sawn down in Melbourne with the words 'the colony will fall' sprayed in red on the plinth just hours before Australia Day".

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This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Captain James Cook

Commemorated ati

Barking Abbey

Barking Abbey Was founded by St Erkenwald in the year 666. Destroyed by the D...

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Captain Cook - E1

{Left-most panel:} He surveyed the St Lawrence River in 1759. In three voyag...

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Captain Cook - E1 plaque - gone

This terracotta-coloured plaque is now in Australia (see eHive) with one of t...

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Captain Cook - The Highway

The plaque gives Cook's address as 126 Upper Shadwell. Horward's 1799 map gi...

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Captain James Cook statue

The original inscription stopped after "New Zealand." In 1928 the British Em...

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Other Subjects

Joseph Healey

Joseph Healey

Role on the lost expedition: Royal marine on SS Erebus. See John Franklin.

Person, Exploring, Tragedy

1 memorial
Samuel Crispe

Samuel Crispe

Role on the lost expedition: Able seaman on SS Terror. See John Franklin.

Person, Exploring, Tragedy

1 memorial
Thomas Honey

Thomas Honey

Role on the lost expedition: Officer on SS Terror. See John Franklin.

Person, Exploring, Tragedy

1 memorial
Stephen Borough

Stephen Borough

Explorer and naval administrator.  Born Devon.  Elder brother to William.  Sailed in the same North-East Passage expedition as Willoughby, as captain of the 'Edward Bonaventure', the ship that had ...

Person, Exploring

1 memorial
John Weekes

John Weekes

Role on the lost expedition: Officer on SS Erebus. See John Franklin.

Person, Exploring, Tragedy

1 memorial

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Geoffrey Stewart

Geoffrey Stewart

Killed in action in France, serving with the Coldstream Guards. Son of Sir Herbert Stewart. Andrew Behan found the photo and has researched this man: Captain Geoffrey Stewart was born on 28 Octobe...

Person, Armed Forces, France

1 memorial
J. R. Brand

J. R. Brand

J. Lyons & Co. Ltd. staff member who died in WW2.

Person, Armed Forces

War dead, WW2
1 memorial
Battle of St Vincent frieze

Battle of St Vincent frieze

NW1, Euston Road, Triton Square

See "2018" below for the event that this relief depicts. Camden's Public Art List of Major Works in the Borough (warning: large file) sa...

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
Thomas Sheraton

Thomas Sheraton

Furniture designer. Born Stockton-on-Tees, co. Durham. Moved to London in 1790 and published furniture design books. Returned to co. Durham in 1799 and became a Baptist minister. His second peri...

Person, Craft / Design, Seriously Famous

1 memorial
Battle of Trafalgar

Battle of Trafalgar

A sea battle that took place off Cape Trafalgar on the south west coast of Spain. Nelson led the British fleet to a decisive victory which permanently removed the threat of invasion of England by t...

Event, Armed Forces, France, Spain

9 memorials