Capt. James Cook or Capt. James Kirk? Quiz

Answer: Neither

James Cook was born in Marton, a small village in North Yorkshire, England. When he was eight years old, his family moved to the village of Great Ayton, five miles away. The house where Cook was born was torn down, but Marton is now the site of the Captain Cook Birthplace Museum. In Melbourne, Australia you can visit "Captain Cook's Cottage, Great Ayton", which was built by James's father in 1755 and was moved to Australia in 1934. Cook never lived in that cottage, though.

James T. Kirk, as many "Trekkies" know, was born in Riverside, Iowa, USA, Earth. Riverside had a population of 928 in the year 2000. (Its population in 2233, the year of Kirk's birth, is unknown.) Kirk and family moved to the planet Tarsus IV sometime during his childhood.

Answer: Captain Kirk only

Captain Kirk graduated from Starfleet Academy and thus was an officer (albeit an ensign) on his first voyage. Captain Cook, however, initially worked on a coal ship (a collier) as an ordinary sailor and worked his way up through the merchant ranks. He would have obtained command of his own ship, but enlisted in the Royal Navy (again, as a common seaman) when the Seven Years' War started.

Answer: Both

Captain Cook married Elizabeth Barts in 1762 and was married to her until his death 17 years later. They had 6 children, three of whom died young. Of Cook's three sons who survived childhood, two died at sea and the other also died before graduating from Cambridge. Some sources also state that Cook fathered a child with a Hawaiian chief's daughter shortly before his death.

Captain Kirk had a child with Carol Marcus, although they did not marry. This son, David Marcus, dies in the movie " Star Trek III: The Search for Spock". In the original series episode "The Paradise Syndrome", Kirk marries a woman named Miramanee, who is pregnant with his child when she dies.

Answer: Both

Even if you don't count the first voyage of the "Endeavour" as Cook's first major command, his work at surveying and exploring in North America aboard the "Northumberland", the "Pembroke" and the "Grenville" would still qualify as exploration. Cook's three transpacific voyages, however, fulfilled his ambition (as stated in his journal) to "not only to go farther than anyone had done before, but as far as it was possible for man to go".

James Kirk's "Enterprise" had as "Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations--to boldly go where no man has gone before."

(And if those two sound similar, well...that's the whole point of this quiz.)

Answer: Both

Captain Cook's ship's surgeons were important members of the crew. Cook's journals frequently also mention the presence of his naturalist-passenger, Joseph Banks, on shore parties. When Cook was killed on the island of Hawaii, the eyewitness account is from the "Resolution"'s surgeon, David Samwell. Royal Marines, responsible for security on each of Cook's three voyages, wore red outer coats.

A typical shore party with Captain Kirk included his Science Officer, his Medical Officer, and one or more "expendable" (because they always seemed to get killed) red-shirted security personnel.

Answer: Neither

Although one of Cook's first postings in the Royal Navy was aboard the "HMS Eagle", he was not its captain. Cook commanded the "Endeavour" and (for his Second and Third voyages) the "Resolution".

James T. Kirk's first assignment as an ensign was aboard the "USS Republic". He also served on the "Farragut", and was, of course, captain of the "Enterprise" and the "Enterprise-A".

Answer: Captain Kirk only

James Cook's rank on his first voyage was Lieutenant. He was promoted to Captain upon the successful completion of his second voyage. He was never an admiral.
(For a fascinating look at British Naval ranks during Cook's life, see the discussion at www.captaincooksociety.com/ccsu4190.htm.)

James Kirk rose to the rank of Rear Admiral and was also Chief of Starfleet Operations.

Answer: Both

Captain Cook's ships were prey to all the infectious diseases typical of the late eighteenth century, including but not limited to syphilis, malaria, and typhoid fever. Conspicuously absent, however, was the deficiency disease scurvy, which Cook kept at bay by insisting his men eat fresh food whenever possible.

The "Star Trek" original series episode "Requiem for Methuselah" begins with an outbreak of Rigelian fever aboard the "Enterprise".

Answer: Both

Cook retired from the Royal Navy in 1775 after his second voyage. He returned to the sea in the "Resolution" in 1776 to look for the Northwest Passage. The voyage would be his last.

Kirk retired from Starfleet after the events of "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" but returned in time to face "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" and the other sequels, too.

Answer: Captain Kirk only

Captain Cook was killed by Hawaiians in 1779. His corpse was dismembered; parts were recovered by his men, who buried them at sea. Although numerous sites in the South Pacific are named for him (Cooktown, the Cook Islands, etc.), he has no gravesite.

Although Captain Kirk was believed to have died during the maiden voyage of the "Enterprise-B", he was actually alive in an energy distortion called the Nexus. The movie "Star Trek: Generations" saw his heroic death and burial in a simple grave on the planet Veridian III.