Who was the explorer who led three expeditions into the Pacific in the eighteenth century?

It was Captain James Cook. In three voyages Cook sailed thousands of miles across largely uncharted areas of the globe. He mapped lands from New Zealand to Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean in greater detail and on a scale not previously achieved. As he progressed on his voyages of discovery he surveyed and named features, and recorded islands and Coastlines on European maps for the first time.

First voyage (1768-71)

Second voyage (1772-75)

Third voyage (1776-79)