Detail of the Resolution beating through the ice, by John Webber, (1752-1793). Antarctica: The Last Continent by Ian Cameron, page 38. The Resolution was responsible for some remarkable feats and was to prove one of the significant historical ships. She was the first ship to cross the Antarctic Circle (17 January 1773) and crossed twice more on the voyage. As a consequence the Resolution was instrumental in proving Dalrymple's Terra Australis Incognita (Southern Continent) to be a myth. On his third voyage, Captain James Cook crossed the Arctic Circle in the Resolution on 17th August 1778. Charles Clerke, who took over the command after Cook's tragic death, crossed it again on 19 July 1779.