1567-1635

French Geographer and Explorer

Samuel de Champlain was among the first explorers to travel along the east coast of North America and into its interior. He is often credited as the founder of New France, which is known today as Canada. He also established or helped to establish colonies at Montreal, Annapolis Royal in Nova Scotia, and Quebec. By founding Quebec, he created the first permanent European settlement in North America. He also helped to create much more accurate maps of northeastern North America, providing needed geographical information to later expeditions.

Born around 1567 in the town of Brouage on the coast of France, Champlain soon began a career at sea. He learned about navigation, mapmaking and chart-reading, and took part in his first major expeditions to the West Indies from 1601-1603. His interest spurred, he set sail again, this time aboard a ship...