On this day, 247 years ago, on January 18, 1778 (December 20, 1777), British navigator James Cook discovered the Sandwich Islands, known as Hawaii. Portrait of Captain Cook. Present in the British Maritime Museum. The Sandwich Islands were the name given to Hawaii by British navigator James Cook when he discovered it on January 18, 1778, in honor of the First Lord of the Navy, his superior and patron, the Fourth Earl of Sandwich. Beginning in the late 19th century, the name began to cease to be widely used. Captain James Cook, FRS, RN (October 27, 1728 - February 14, 1779), was an English explorer and navigator who made three expeditions to the Pacific Ocean and explored the coastline along the Pacific coast. He was also a mapmaker, inventor of the longitude instrument nautical position determination, and the first captain to discover a cure for scurvy. Often referred to as Captain Cook. According to records, the first British to discover the southern hemisphere of New Zealand and the east coast of Australia was James Cook. The strait between the North and South islands of New Zealand today is named after him Cook Strait. There is also an archipelago in the South Pacific named after him Cook Islands. He was also the first European to discover the Hawaiian Islands. James Cook was a Scottish immigrant born in 1728 in Whiteby, Yorkshire, England. He began working as a sailor for the Walker Shipping Company in the 1740s, but only in the waters off England. In 1755, he joined the Royal Navy and was sent to North America to fight in the Anglo-French War. He was promoted to captain in 1759. In the 1760s, Cook began his 20-year expedition and died in Hawaii in 1779. The cause of death is still unknown. It is believed that he was killed in a conflict with the native Hawaiians. During his three long marches, the accompanying painters John Webber and William Hodges left many precious nautical drawing records. Comments: Hawaii is home to the most endangered species in the world