The Life of Captain James Cook, the CircumnavigatorKitson, Arthur
History
The Life of Captain James Cook, the Circumnavigator
Kitson, Arthur
Cook, James, 1728-1779; Explorers -- Great Britain -- Biography; Geographers -- Great Britain -- Biography
"We came to few places where either the art of man or the bounty of
nature had not provided some sort of refreshment or other, either in the
animal or vegetable way. It was my first care to procure whatever of any
kind could be met with, by every means in my power, and to oblige our
people to make use thereof, both by my example and authority; but the
benefits arising from refreshments of any kind soon became so obvious
that I had little occasion to recommend the one or exert the other."
COPLEY GOLD MEDAL.
On the 30th November 1776 Sir John Pringle, President of the Royal
Society, in his address to the Fellows, announced that the Copley Gold
Medal had been conferred on Captain Cook for his paper on the Treatment
of Scurvy, and gave some corroborative facts which had come under his own
observation, concluding his speech as follows:
"If Rome decreed the Civic Crown to him who saved the life of a single
citizen, what wreaths are due to that man, who, having himself saved
many, perpetuates in your Transactions the means by which Britain may
now, on the most distant voyages, preserve numbers of her intrepid sons,
her mariners; who, braving every danger, have so liberally contributed to
the fame, to the opulence, and to the Maritime Empire of this country."
Before Cook left England on his last voyage he had been informed that the
medal had been conferred on him, but he never received it, and it was
presented to Mrs. Cook, and is now in the British Museum.
During May 1776 Cook sat for his portrait, now in the Painted Hall,
Greenwich, to Sir Nathaniel Dance. There are several portraits of him in
existence; three by Webber, one being in the National Portrait Gallery;
one by Hodges; and one or two others by unknown artists. Mr. Samwell,
surgeon on the third voyage, says of an engraving by Sherwin, from the
portrait by Dance, that it "is a most excellent likeness of Captain Cook;
and more to be valued, as it is the only one I have seen that bears any
resemblance to him." This portrait of Dance's represents Cook dressed in
his Captain's uniform, seated at a table on which is a chart. The figure
is evidently that of a tall man--he was over six feet in height--with
brown unpowdered hair, neatly tied back from the face; the clear
complexion shows little effect of exposure to the sea breezes, the
pleasant brown eyes look from under rather prominent brows, the nose
rather long, and a good firm mouth. The whole face gives a very pleasant
impression of the man, and conveys the idea that it was a good likeness.
COOK VOLUNTEERS.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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