George Dixon

Who was George Dixon?

George Dixon was an English sea captain, explorer, and maritime fur trader. George Dixon was "born in Leath Ward, a native of Kirkoswald". The son of Thomas Dixon, he was baptised in Kirkoswald on 8 July 1748.

He served under Captain Cook in his third voyage, on HMS Resolution, as armourer. In the course of the voyage he learned about the commercial possibilities along the North West Coast of America.

History has not served Dixon well; for he is the least known of those who served and or were taught by Captain Cook and is only rarely mentioned in history books and when he is, he is relegated to a minor figure who is overshadowed by Cook and William Bligh, another officer on Cook's ill-fated third trip.

In 1782, George Dixon was engaged by William Bolts. The Wiener Zeitung newspaper of 29 June 1782 carried a report from Fiume that, “in the early days of this month, Mr. von Bolts, Director of the Triestine East India Company, together with the English captain, Mr. Digson, arrived in this city”. George Dixon wrote in the introduction to his account of the voyage he made for the Etches Company to the North West Coast in 1785-1788: