A SERIES of lectures to mark the birthday of explorer Captain James Cook is launched tomorrow in Middlesbrough.

The free talks, on topics including the history of Marton, which was Cook's birthplace, and some of his voyages, will take place at the Captain Cook Birthplace Museum, Stewart Park, at 2pm, on the next four Thursdays.

The lectures tie in with the week-long Captain Cook Birthday Festival 2002, which begins on October 19 and sees a variety of events around the town.

A Cook exhibition, called the Wonders of Native Manufacture, is at the museum until next February.