Which British explorer was killed in Hawaii in 1779?

The British explorer killed in Hawaii in 1779 was James Cook.

Captain James Cook was one of the 18th century's most accomplished maritime explorers. His Pacific voyages mapped large areas with unusual accuracy, charted New Zealand's coastline and helped establish European knowledge of Australia's eastern coast. He also developed methods that greatly reduced scurvy among sailors.

Cook first reached the Hawaiian Islands in January 1778, naming them the Sandwich Islands after the Earl of Sandwich. He returned during his third voyage and anchored at Kealakekua Bay on Hawaii Island in January 1779. After a dispute involving a stolen boat, tensions grew between Cook's crew and local Hawaiians.

On 14 February 1779, Cook attempted to take King Kalaniʻōpuʻu hostage in order to recover the vessel. A confrontation followed on the shore, and Cook was killed. The incident is sometimes confused with the deaths of explorers such as Henry Hudson, who disappeared after a mutiny in 1611, or Walter Raleigh, who was executed in London in 1618.