![Johngore](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/Johngore.jpg)
Captain John Gore (c. 173010 August 1790) was a
British American
British American usually refers to Americans whose ancestral origin originates wholly or partly in the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Cornwall, Orkney, and the Isle of Man). It is primarily a demographic or histor ...
sailor who circumnavigated the globe four times with the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
in the 18th century and accompanied
Captain James Cook
James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean and ...
in his discoveries in the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
.
History
Although little is known about John Gore before his service with the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
, it is believed he was born in the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
Colony of Virginia
The Colony of Virginia, chartered in 1606 and settled in 1607, was the first enduring English colonial empire, English colony in North America, following failed attempts at settlement on Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey GilbertG ...
in either 1729 or 1730. He first appears in the record books in 1755, joining
HMS ''Windsor'' at
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
as a
midshipman
A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...
.
Five years later Gore took his lieutenant's exam and was appointed
master's mate
Master's mate is an obsolete rating which was used by the Royal Navy, United States Navy and merchant services in both countries for a senior petty officer who assisted the master. Master's mates evolved into the modern rank of Sub-Lieutenant in t ...
of
HMS ''Dolphin''. Aboard the ''Dolphin'' Gore circumnavigated the globe twice—first under
John Byron
Vice-Admiral John Byron (8 November 1723 – 1 April 1786) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer. He earned the nickname "Foul-Weather Jack" in the press because of his frequent encounters with bad weather at sea. As a midshipman, he sa ...
and then
Samuel Wallis
Samuel Wallis (23 April 1728 – 21 January 1795 in London) was a British naval officer and explorer of the Pacific Ocean. He made the first recorded visit by a European navigator to Tahiti.
Biography
Wallis was born at Fenteroon Farm, n ...
. His experience in the Pacific Ocean and on extended navy expeditions led to him being called up to join
James Cook
James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...
's mission to record the
Transit of Venus in Tahiti and search for ''
Terra Australis
(Latin: '"Southern Land'") was a hypothetical continent first posited in antiquity and which appeared on maps between the 15th and 18th centuries. Its existence was not based on any survey or direct observation, but rather on the idea that ...
'' in 1768 aboard
HMS ''Endeavour''. On ''Endeavour'', Gore was initially third-in-command (i.e. 3rd Lieutenant) behind Cook (1st Lieutenant) and
Zachary Hicks
Zachary Hicks (1739 – 25 May 1771) was a Royal Navy officer, second-in-command on Lieutenant James Cook's first voyage to the Pacific and the first among Cook's crew to sight mainland Australia. A dependable officer who had risen swiftly ...
(2nd Lieutenant). After the death of Hicks on the return voyage to England on 26 May 1771, Gore became second-in-command (2nd Lieutenant)
Gore had previously been part of the Royal Navy crew aboard Wallis's ''Dolphin'' that had "discovered" Tahiti and he became valuable to Cook for his knowledge of the island. In 1769 Gore became the first recorded person on the expedition to shoot and kill a person of
Māori
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...
descent, following an altercation over a piece of cloth as the ''Endeavour'' charted the coast of
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
. Later, on 14 July 1770 Gore became famous for being the first person to shoot and kill a
kangaroo
Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern gre ...
(for scientific research) as the expedition made its way up the eastern seaboard of
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
..
Returning to England, in 1772 Gore joined the
botanist
Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...
Joseph Banks
Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences.
Banks made his name on the 1766 natural-history expedition to Newfoundland and Labrador. He took part in Captain James ...
(who had also been on Cook's first Pacific voyage) in a private scientific expedition to
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
and the
Hebrides
The Hebrides (; gd, Innse Gall, ; non, Suðreyjar, "southern isles") are an archipelago off the west coast of the Scottish mainland. The islands fall into two main groups, based on their proximity to the mainland: the Inner and Outer Hebrid ...
. Gore and Banks may have become friends as evidence shows that Banks was the executor of Gore's will. The trip did not return until after Cook had sailed on his second Pacific voyage.
In 1776 Gore answered the call from Cook and the admiralty once again and joined
HMS ''Resolution'' as
first lieutenant
First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment.
The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...
for Cook's
third voyage. As the ''Resolution'' explored the Pacific in search of the famed
Northwest Passage
The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The eastern route along the Arct ...
, Gore would sight the American continent of his birth from the west coast. Later, following Cook's death in
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
,
Charles Clerke
Captain Charles Clerke (22 August 1741 – 22 August 1779) was an officer in the Royal Navy who sailed on four voyages of exploration, three with Captain James Cook. When Cook was killed during his 3rd expedition to the Pacific, Clerke took co ...
, captain of ''Resolution's'' sister ship
HMS ''Discovery'' took command. Gore then assumed command of ''Discovery'' in Clerke's place. When Clerke himself died shortly after, Gore took responsibility for the entire expedition and brought the ships home to England on 4 October 1780—more than a year after assuming command. He was formally promoted to the post of captain on 2 October 1780.
In recognition of his achievements
John Webber
John Webber (6 October 1751 – 29 May 1793) was an English artist who accompanied Captain Cook on his third Pacific expedition. He is best known for his images of Australasia, Hawaii and Alaska.
Biography
Webber was born in London, educated ...
, who had previously painted Cook, took Gore's portrait as the navy made him an honorary
post-captain
Post-captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of Captain (Royal Navy), captain in the Royal Navy.
The term served to distinguish those who were captains by rank from:
* Officers in command of a naval vessel, who were (and still are) ...
. Moving further in the footsteps of Cook, he was offered the late Captain's vacant rooms at the
Greenwich Hospital.
In 1790, having circumnavigated the globe four times, he died on 10 August.
Legacy
Gore was survived by a son,
John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second ...
(born 1772) who was also a Royal Navy Officer, who reached the rank of captain on 19 July 1821, retiring in that rank on 1 October 1846, later promoted to Retired Rear Admiral on 8 March 1852 and dying in 1853. He moved to Australia in 1834 as one of the first free settlers. Little is known of his mother (John Gore senior's wife), Ann Gore, although she is known to have received a Royal Navy widow's pension from 1790.
[WRD Leigh 1978 Biographical Notes and Genealogical Charts of Families descended from John Gore and Richard Leigh in Australia.] His son (that is, John Gore senior's grandson),
Graham Gore
Graham Gore (c. 1809 – between 28 May 1847 and 25 April 1848) was an English officer of the Royal Navy and polar explorer who participated in two expeditions to the Arctic and a survey of the coastline of Australia aboard HMS ''Beagle''. In 18 ...
, continued the expeditionary heritage, perishing in
John Franklin
Sir John Franklin (16 April 1786 – 11 June 1847) was a British Royal Navy officer and Arctic explorer. After serving in wars against Napoleonic France and the United States, he led two expeditions into the Canadian Arctic and through ...
's
ill-fated attempt to navigate the Northwest Passage, nearly 70 years after his grandfather had attempted the same.
Gore Point and the Gore Peninsula in the
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
n
Kenai fjords
Kenai Fjords National Park is an American national park that maintains the Harding Icefield, its outflowing glaciers, and coastal fjords and islands. The park covers an area of on the Kenai Peninsula in south-central Alaska, west of the tow ...
were named for John Gore by Captain
Nathaniel Portlock
Nathaniel Portlock (c. 1748 – 12 September 1817) was a British ship's captain, maritime fur trader, and author.
He entered the Royal Navy in 1772 as an able seaman, serving in . In 1776 he joined as master's mate and served on the third Pac ...
, a fellow veteran of Cook's third voyage who explored the Pacific Northwest of America in the late 18th century. There are also several Australian and New Zealand sites named after John Gore.
References
''The Endeavour'' journal (1)an
''The Endeavour'' journal (2) as kept by James Cook – digitised and held by the
National Library of Australia
The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...
*
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
The Quiet Marinerby Johanna Parker (Curator, National Archives of Australia) at the Captain Cook Society
an
by Madge Darby and Cliff Thornton at the Captain Cook Society
* ''The Life of John Ledyard, the American Traveller'' by Jared Sparks (1829) Hilliard & Brown, pages 76–77
* ''Exploring Alaska's Kenai Fjords'' by David Wm Miller (2004) Wilderness Images
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gore, John
1790 deaths
18th-century births
American sailors
Anglo-Scots
British explorers of the Pacific
Circumnavigators of the globe
Explorers of Alaska
Explorers of Australia
Explorers of British Columbia
James Cook
People from Virginia
Royal Navy officers
Year of birth unknown