Although little is known about John Gore before his service with the
Royal Navy, it is believed he was born in the
British Colony of Virginia in either 1729 or 1730. He first appears in the record books in 1755, joining
HMS Windsor at
Portsmouth as a
midshipman. Five years later, Gore took his lieutenant's exam and was appointed
master's mate of
HMS Dolphin. Aboard the
Dolphin Gore circumnavigated the globe twice—first under
John Byron and then
Samuel Wallis. His experience in the Pacific Ocean and on extended navy expeditions led to him being called up to join
James Cook's mission to record the
Transit of Venus in Tahiti and search for
Terra Australis in 1768 aboard
HMS Endeavour. On
Endeavour, Gore was initially third-in-command (i.e. 3rd Lieutenant) behind Cook (1st Lieutenant) and
Zachary Hicks (2nd Lieutenant). After the death of
Hicks on the return voyage to England on 26 May 1771, Gore became second-in-command (2nd Lieutenant) Gore had previously been part of the Royal Navy crew aboard Wallis's
Dolphin that had discovered Tahiti and he became valuable to Cook for his knowledge of the island. In 1769 Gore became the first recorded person on the expedition to shoot and kill a person of
Māori descent, following an altercation over a piece of cloth as the
Endeavour charted the coast of
New Zealand. Later, on 14 July 1770 Gore was the first person to shoot and kill a
kangaroo (for scientific research) as the expedition made its way up the eastern seaboard of
Australia Returning to England, in 1772, Gore joined the
botanist Joseph Banks (who had also been on Cook's first Pacific voyage) in a private scientific expedition to
Iceland and the
Hebrides. Gore and Banks may have become friends as evidence shows that Banks was the executor of Gore's will. The trip did not return until after Cook had sailed on his second Pacific voyage. In 1776, Gore joined
HMS Resolution as
first lieutenant for Cook's
third voyage. As the
Resolution explored the Pacific in search of the famed
Northwest Passage, Gore would sight the American continent of his birth from the west coast. Later, following Cook's death in
Hawaii,
Charles Clerke, captain of ''Resolution's
sister ship HMS Discovery
took command. Gore then assumed command of Discovery'' in Clerke's place. When Clerke died shortly after, Gore took responsibility for the entire expedition and brought the ships home to England on 4 October 1780, more than a year after assuming command. He was formally promoted to the post of captain on 2 October 1780. In recognition of his achievements
John Webber, who had previously painted Cook, took Gore's portrait as the navy made him an honorary
post-captain. Moving further in the footsteps of Cook, he was offered the late Captain's vacant rooms at the
Greenwich Hospital. In 1790, having circumnavigated the globe four times, he died on 10 August. ==Legacy==