The Adventures of Captain Cook: Maps & Voyages

Cook's second expedition (1772-1775) took him to Antarctica and to Easter Island with a goal of showing that no large southern continent existed.  Cook's two ships on this voyage were the Resolution and the Adventure. Again, many scientists accompanied him on the trip.  Highlights of the second voyage include:

• first crew to cross the Antarctic Circle
  
• explored area north and east of New Zealand, including Tahiti and Tonga  
  

 newworldencyclopedia.org

http://www.gfsnet.org/msweb/explorersweb/pages/Greta_Cook/Explorers_Greta/James_Cook.html

Cook's first journey lasted from August 26,1768 to July 13, 1771, when he sailed to Tahiti on the Endeavor in order to observe Venus as it passed between the Earth and the Sun. This was called the transit of Venus and it was important to know because seeing a small, black dot moving across the Sun helps astronomers to figure out a more accurate distance between the Earth and the Sun. Cook was also searching for a large, southern continent that was thought to exist. Many scientists accompanied him on the voyage, including the botanist Joseph Banks. Highlights of the trip were:

• observed the transit of Venus at Tahiti (April - fall 1769)
  
• sailed to and named the Society Islands (fall 1769)
  
• sailed to New Zealand and, with his crew, fought the native Maori people (October 1769)
  
• mapped much of the 2 major islands, determining New Zealand was not part of a larger southern continent
  
• sailed to and mapped Eastern Australia (late 1769-summer 1770)
  

 http://www.enchantedlearning.com/explorers/page/c/cook.shtml

An Exact Representation of the Death of Captn. James Cook F.R.S. at Karakakooa Bay in Owhyhee on Feby. 14, 1779,
By John Cleveley and Francis Jukes, after James Cleveley.
Published by A. Hogg, London, 1785,
UC/DEP/0244,
University of Canterbury Art Collection

Cook's last expedition (1776-1779) was a search for a Northwest Passage across northern North America to Asia.  Cook sailed from England on July 12, 1776, on the Resolution. Officers on the ship included George Vancouver and William Bligh (who would later be the captain of the Bounty and have his crew mutiny). Highlights of the third voyage include:

• sailed to and named the Sandwich Islands (for his patron the Earl of Sandwich)
• first to avoid scurvy by feeding the crew fresh fruit
• killed by a mob on February 14, 1779 on the Sandwich Islands (now called Hawaii); trying to take the local chief hostage to get the natives to return a stolen sailboat