Captain James Cook was a British explorer, cartographer and naval officer famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean and to New Zealand and Australia in particular. He made detailed maps of Newfoundland prior to making three voyages to the Pacific, during which he achieved the first recorded European contact with the eastern coastline of Australia and the Hawaiian Islands, and the first recorded circumnavigation of New Zealand.

James Craigie Robertson was a Scottish Anglican churchman, canon of Canterbury Cathedral, and author of a History of the Christian Church.

James Creelman was a Canadian-American writer famous for securing a 1908 interview for Pearson's Magazine with Mexican president Porfirio Díaz, in which the strongman said that he would not run for the presidency in the 1910 elections. The interview set off a frenzy of political activity in Mexico over the presidential elections and succession of power. In the words of historian Howard F. Cline, the "Creelman Interview marks a major turning point in the genesis of the Mexican Revolution." Creelman is often cited as a central reporter during the height of yellow journalism.

James De Mille was a professor at Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia, and an early Canadian novelist who published numerous works of popular fiction from the late 1860s through the 1870s.

James Duff Brown (1862–1914) was a British librarian, information theorist, music biographer and educationalist. Most of his life was spent in London.

James Edwin Gunn was an American science fiction writer, editor, scholar, and anthologist. His work as an editor of anthologies includes the six-volume Road to Science Fiction series. He won the Hugo Award for "Best Related Work" in 1983 and he won or was nominated for several other awards for his non-fiction works in the field of science fiction studies. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America made him its 24th Grand Master in 2007, and he was inducted by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 2015. His novel The Immortals was adapted into a 1970–71 TV series starring Christopher George.

James Edson White, frequently known as Edson White, was an American author, publisher and the second son of two of the pioneers of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, James S. White and Ellen G. White.

James Edward Le Rossignol was a Canadian-born American professor of economics with a particular interest in socialism, and also the author of several works of fiction with settings in Quebec.

James Elphinston was a well noted 18th-century Scottish educator, orthographer, phonologist and linguistics expert.

James Elroy Flecker was a British novelist, playwright, and poet, whose poetry was most influenced by the Parnassian poets.