Captain James Cook Killed in 1779

 

Captain James Cook was Killed on 14 February 1779

 British explorer James Cook certainly got around. The well-traveled surveyor charted previously uncharted lands from Alaska all the way to New Zealand, and he was the first European to reach the Hawaiian islands in 1778. Though he was received with honours then, Cook returned a year later and things weren't so rosy. Cook kidnapped a Hawaiian chief after one of his boats was stolen, which as you can imagine didn't go over so well with the locals. Cook paid for this insult with his life -- not exactly a day of romance.