John Smith – 1580-1631

Smith was a soldier of fortune who served as military leader of the English settlers who founded Jamestown, Virginia, on May 14, 1607. His efforts were critical to the struggling colony’s survival, and he assured himself a place in history through his writings, including the 1624 Generall Historie of Virginia, New England, and the Summer Isles, which contains the first account of how Pocahontas, daughter of the powerful Indian sachem Powhatan, saved Smith’s life—a tale (perhaps true) that entered American folklore, legend, and literature.