Smith, Captain John

(Jan. 1579-June 21, 1631). An organizer of the Virginia Company of London. Smith was born in Willoughby, Lincolnshire, England. He promoted the Virginia Company's plan to found a colony in America. In 1606 he and 143 other colonists sailed to Virginia. They landed at Jamestown on May 24, 1607. Legend claims that he was rescued by Pocahontas, the daughter of Chief Powhatan, after he was taken prisoner by the Indians in 1607. Smith was Governor of Virginia in 1608-1609. His pamphlet, A True Relation (1608), provides the earliest description of the settlement at Jamestown. In 1612 Smith published A Map of Virginia. It was a primary contribution to cartography. In 1614 he explored the coast of New England. He published A Description of New England (1616), which fixed the name of that region. He died in London.