VANCOUVER, GEORGE (c. 1757-1798), English navi gator, was born in 1757. He entered the navy at the age of 13, and accompanied James Cook in his second (1772-74) and third (1776-8o) voyages of discovery. After serving for several years in the West Indies, both under Rodney (his commander in the action of April 12, 1782) and under Alan Gardner (1786-89), Vancouver, on Gardner's recommendation, was appointed to com mand an expedition to the north-west coast of America, to take over from the Spaniards the territory they had seized (and subse quently relinquished) in that region, to explore the coast from 3o° N. round to Cook's River (or Inlet), to search for an eastward passage to the great lakes, and to ascertain the true character of Juan de Fuca Strait. Vancouver, accompanied by Lieutenant Broughton, left Falmouth on April 1, 1791 and proceeded by way of the Cape of Good Hope to Australia, where he carefully sur veyed part of the south-west coast, especially King George's Sound, whose value as a harbour he pointed out. He next made for Dusky Bay, New Zealand (which he was the first properly to explore), and thence sailing north-east, discovered Oparo islet (27° 36' S.; 12' W.), and on Dec. 3o reached Tahiti, where he was again joined by Broughton, who meanwhile had discovered Chatham island. After staying about three weeks at Tahiti and several weeks at the Hawaiian islands, Vancouver on April 18, 1792, sighted the west coast of North America (California, then known as New Albion) in 39° 27' N. He examined the coast up to 52° 18' N. with minute care, surveying all inlets, discovering
the Gulf of Georgia, and circumnavigating Vancouver island. After another visit (Feb.—March 1793) to the Hawaiian islands, in whose races and affairs he took great interest, Vancouver re sumed his exploration of the American coast in April, surveying north to 56') N., and south (past the Spanish Californian settle ments) to 35° N. During a fresh stay at the Hawaiian islands (Jan.—March Vancouver accepted their submission to Great Britain, but his annexation seems never to have been officially ratified. Quitting the group again in March 1794, Vancouver sailed, by Chernigov island and Kodiak island, to Cook's inlet, which was now proved to be no river. After a fresh survey of much of the coast north of San Francisco, Vancouver set out homewards via Cape Horn and St. Helena in Oct. 2794. On the way he made a careful examination of Cape St. Lucas, the south ern point of Lower California, the Galapagos islands and some other points. He reached the Thames on Oct. 20, and immediately set about the preparation of his narrative ; but he died at Peters ham in Surrey on May io, 1798, before he had completed his task. His brother John, assisted by Captain Puget, published the com plete record in 1798.
See A Voyage of Discovery to the North Pacific Ocean and round the World . . . in 1790-95 . . . under Captain George Vancouver, 3 vols. (1798), with an atlas of maps and plates.