January 6, 1580

Lincolnshire, England

June 1631

London, England

Leader of Jamestown Colony

Portrait: John Smith. Reproduced by permission of The Library of Congress.

"At the minute of my execution, [Pocahontas] . . . hazarded the beating out of her own braines to save mine."

John Smith.

John Smith was one of the original seven council members (governors) of Jamestown, Virginia, the first permanent English settlement in America. Smith was a colorful figure as well as an author, whose works about life in early Virginia are still read today. His resourcefulness was invaluable to the Jamestown colonists, who lacked the motivation or skills to survive the harsh circumstances of a strange land. In addition, Smith was one of the few Englishmen to regard Native Americans as fellow human beings. He is perhaps best known for being saved from execution by Pocahontas (see entry), daughter of Powhatan (see entry), the powerful leader of...