Nicholas Young (sailor)

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Nicholas Young was a sailor on Captain James Cook's ship in his first voyage. He was eleven years old when the ship left England on August 26, 1768. However, before he earned the rank of able-bodied seaman, he was a stowaway on the Endeavor. Nicholas Young sighted New Zealand on October 7, 1769. Captain James Cook named the place Young Nick's Head after Nick. Nicholas must have been well educated because he once wrote in John Bootie's journal,"Evil communications corrupt good" and signed his name below bravely.

Later Nick went on another voyage with Joseph Banks, a trip to Iceland in 1772.

[edit] References

Stowaway, a children's novel authored by Karen Hesse, falls into the historical fiction genre amd recounts Captain Cook's voyage from Nicholas Young's point of view. It is told via a fictitious diary; however, several of the occurences are based on genuine evidence and true historical events.