Richard Pickersgill (18 April 1749 in

West Tanfield West Tanfield is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. The village is situated approximately six miles north of Ripon on the A6108, which goes from Ripon to Masham and Wensleydale. The parish incl ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

– July 1779 in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

) was an English naval officer who accompanied the sailor and explorer

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 ...

on two of his Pacific voyages. Richard Pickersgill was born in 1749 in West Tanfield, near

Ripon Ripon () is a cathedral city in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. The city is located at the confluence of two tributaries of the River Ure, the Laver and Skell. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the city ...

, to Richard and Ann Pickersgill (née Lee). Pickersgill was the nephew of John Lee, the servant of George Jackson, a senior officer in the Admiralty. It is believed that his uncle managed to position him through his relationships on his first ships. In 1766, at the age of 17, he participated in the circumnavigation of the world under Captain

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 ...

on HMS ''Dolphin''. Two years later, on August 26, 1768, Pickersgill belonged as a

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 ...

on HMS ''Endeavour'', which set off with James Cook to its first South Sea voyage. On this trip he also impressed Cook, who had a high opinion of his skills as a surveyor, his dealings with the indigenous peoples they encountered, and his judgment. When Robert Molineux, the

Master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

of the ''Endeavour'', died on the return journey to England, Pickersgill was promoted to Master on April 16, 1771. After his return to London Pickersgill was promoted on Cook's recommendation to

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

. On July 13, 1772 Cook began his second expedition with HMS ''Resolution'', and Richard Pickersgill joined as the Third Lieutenant. He did not accompany Cook on his third voyage, but in April 1776 took command of the ship ''Lyon'' and was sent to Baffin Bay on the east coast of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Richard Pickersgill died in 1779 at the age of 30, when he accidentally fell into the Thames when boarding a ship and drowned. According to Richard Pickersgill, the

Pickersgill Islands The Pickersgill Islands () are a small archipelago to the west of the main island of South Georgia. They are southeast of Annenkov Island and west-southwest of Leon Head, South Georgia. History of Name Annenkov Island was discovered in Ja ...

off South Georgia in the South Atlantic and Pickersgill Harbour, a natural harbour in

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 ...

, were named after him.

References

External links

Journal of Richard Pickersgill, Third Lieutenant of the Resolution
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pickersgill, Richard 1749 births 1779 deaths 18th-century English people 18th-century explorers English explorers of the Pacific Circumnavigators of the globe English cartographers English explorers English sailors Explorers of New Zealand People from Hambleton District Royal Navy officers Deaths by drowning in the United Kingdom Military personnel from Yorkshire James Cook