1758-1798

English Navigator and Explorer

Captain George Vancouver commanded the British Royal Navy ship Discovery in 1791 on a four-year journey that surveyed and mapped the American Northwest coast. Vancouver also searched for the Northwest Passage, a navigable waterway rumored to flow from the West coast of America leading to the continent's Eastern seaboard. Through meticulous exploring and charting, Vancouver proved the passage did not exist.

Born in the English port village of King's Lynn, Vancouver spent his childhood near the sea. In 1772, at the age of fourteen, Vancouver left home to sail with famed English seaman Captain James Cook (1728-1779) on his voyage around the world. Vancouver later served as midshipman during Cook's explorations along the West coast of North America. These voyages honed Vancouver's navigational and surveying skills, and acquainted him with the many inlets, bays, and coves of the west coastline of...