Captain James Cook (1728-1779). Oil on canvas painting by Nathaniel Dance-Holland (1735-1811), c. 1775. James Cook FRS RN (7 November 1728 - 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer, ultimately rising to the rank of Captain in the Royal Navy. Cook was the first to map Newfoundland prior to making three voyages to the Pacific Ocean during which he achieved the first European contact with the eastern coastline of Australia and the Hawaiian Islands as well as the first recorded circumnavigation of New Zealand. Cook died in Hawaii in a fight with Hawaiians.