Star Trek: The First Captain Of The Enterprise You Never Knew About

Robert April is, unfortunately, one of the forgotten characters in Star Trek lore. Although Captain Kirk is best remembered as the captain of the original Enterprise, Jeffery Hunter, Bruce Greenwood and Anson Mount are challenging that with their portrayals of Christopher Pike. On-screen, aside from his appearance in The Animated Series, he has only been referenced one other time - in Star Trek: Discovery.

In the first season of Discovery, Saru asks the main computer to present a list of the most decorated captains in Starfleet history. There, right at the top of the list, is Robert April.

It is a wonderful nod to history, while locking the man into live-action canon. Robert April may, as yet, still have to appear on-screen. Perhaps it is the slightly daunting task of stepping into this man's shoes. He is older than Jonathan Archer, in fairness, even if the timelines are out of order! He is quite literally the very first man to ever sit in the captain's chair, even if that never made it as far as being filmed.

Robert April was the template for all of the captains to follow. He may not be the best remembered of Starfleet - it is with genuine hope that this article can work to change that!