Facts about Captain Kirk
Captain James T. Kirk Biography
Captain James T. Kirk was the commander, star, and hero of the original 1960s sci-fi TV series Star Trek.
As played by William Shatner, Captain Kirk was an impetuous fist-fighting alpha male, leading the multi-racial, mostly-human crew of the starship Enterprise on a series of space adventures throughout the universe. According to the futuristic mythology of the show, Kirk was promoted to captain of the Enterprise in 2264, and given a five-year mission “to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.” He was assisted by his emotionless Vulcan science officer, Mr. Spock (played by Leonard Nimoy), and the emotional Dr. McCoy (played by DeForest Kelley).
Capt. Kirk appeared in the original series (1966-69) and in seven feature films: Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979); Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan (1982); Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984); Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986); Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989); Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991); and Star Trek: Generations (1994).
A younger version of Kirk was played by actor Chris Pine in the 2009 feature Star Trek and its sequels, Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) and Star Trek Beyond (2016). Kirk was also played on TV by Paul Wesley, in the Trek prequel Strange New Worlds, which launched in 2022.
Extra credit
James T. Kirk’s middle name is Tiberius… According to the official Star Trek history, James Kirk was born in Riverside, Iowa on March 22, 2233, and at age 34 became the youngest captain in Starfleet history. He died in 2371 after spending 78 years in a timeless energy distortion called the Nexus, which he entered in 2293. At least, that’s where he told his wife he’d been… The call letters of the Enterprise were NCC 1701… According to the official Star Trek biography of Captain Kirk, his accolades include the Palm Leaf of the Axanar Peace Mission, the Grankite Order of Tactics, and the Prantares Ribbon of Commendation… Captain Kirk was created by Gene Roddenberry, producer of the original Star Trek series.