Cultural Object
H.M.S. Discovery [I] (1774 - 1797)
Royal Navy
- From
- 1774
- To
- 1797
- Functions
- Maritime exploration and Ship
- Alternative Names
- Discovery, H.M.S. (Also known as)
Summary
H.M.S. Discovery was a collier built in Whitby and launched in 1774 with the name Diligence. She was purchased by the Royal Navy 1775 as consort ship to H.M.S. Resolution for James Cook's third voyage of discovery in the Pacific Ocean, and renamed Discovery. The expedition departed from Plymouth in July 1776. Commander of Discovery was Charles Clerke: the ship's company included Midshipman George Vancouver and astronomer William Bayly. After revisiting New Zealand and island groups in the south Pacific, the expedition spent nearly two years exploring in the north Pacific. Clerke took command of the expedition and of Resolution after Cook was killed in February 1779. The ships reached Stromness in the Orkney Islands in 1780. Discovery was subsequently used as a store ship and broken up in 1797.
Details
This was not the ship which sailed as consort to H.M.S. Resolution for James Cook's third voyage to the Pacific Ocean (1776 - 1780).
Chronology
- 13 July 1776
- Event - Departed from Plymouth, United Kingdom
- 14 February 1779
- Event - Death of James Cook, Sandwich Islands
- October 1780
- Event - Arrived in Stromness, Orkney Islands
Related entries
Published resources
Books
- Baines, Stephen, Captain Cook's merchant ships: Freelove, Three Brothers, Mary, Friendship, Endeavour, Adventure, Resolution and Discovery (Cheltenham, U.K.: The History Press, 2015), 344 pp. Details
See also
- Brosse, Jacques; translated by Hochman, Stanley, Great voyages of exploration: the golden age of discovery in the Pacific (Lane Cove, N.S.W.: Doubleday Australia, 1983), 228 pp. Details
- Cook, James; edited by Beaglehole, J. C., The Journals of Captain James Cook on his voyages of discovery, 4 vols (Cambridge: Hakluyt Society, 1968). Details
Helen Cohn
Created: 26 May 2026, Last modified: 28 May 2026