William Wade Ellis (1751 – 1785) was an artist, a naturalist, and a surgeon's mate on 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 an ...

's voyages. His middle name was wrongly identified as Webb in some sources. He is known largely from the paintings of natural history subjects that he made during Captain Cook's voyages. Ellis was baptized on 11 June 1751 at

Ely Cathedral Ely Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, is an Anglican cathedral in the city of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. The cathedral has its origins in AD 672 when St Etheldreda built an abbey church. The presen ...

, born to Thomas, canon at Ely Cathedral, and Elizabeth. A brother of Ellis' became a vicar at

Melbourn Melbourn () is a large, clustered village in the far south-west of Cambridgeshire, England. Its traditional high street is bypassed by the A10, intersecting the settlement's other main axis exactly northwest of the traditional focal point of R ...

, Cambridgeshire. Little is known of his early life, but he was described by David Samwell, surgeon on HMS ''Discovery'', as "a genteel young fellow and of good education". He served on all three of Captain Cook's voyages and may have improved his artistic skills through the influence of

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 ...

after moving from the HMS ''Discovery'' to the HMS ''Resolution''. Descriptions of specimens in his notebooks suggest that he was scientifically trained and had a knowledge of Latin but claims that he trained at Cambridge University and at St. Bartholomew's Hospital have not been supported by evidence. Ellis met

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 ...

and gave him some of his drawings, hoping to be remunerated. Owing to financial difficulties, Ellis took up an offer to write an account of Cook's third voyage, published in 1782. However, due to a breach of terms in the contract, Ellis was not paid for the book's sales. In 1785, he left to join the ''Queen Charlotte'' on a voyage to northwest America. On this voyage, Ellis had an accident at Ostend, Belgium, falling from the mast of the ''Queen Charlotte''. Ellis died from these injuries.The Times. 4 July, 1785.

References

External links

Biography

An authentic narrative of a voyage performed by Captain Cook and Captain Clerke (1784)
{{Authority control English naturalists 1751 births 1785 deaths People from Ely, Cambridgeshire Wildlife artists