Captain John Smith (January 1580 - June 21, 1631) Admiral of New England was an English soldier, explorer, and author. He was considered to have played a important part in the establishment of the first permanent English settlement in North America. He was a leader of the Virginia Colony (based at Jamestown) between September 1608 and August 1609, and led an exploration along the rivers of Virginia and the Chesapeake Bay. Smith's books and maps are extremely important in the further colonization of the New World. He gave the name New England to that region and encouraged people to migrate. In 1614, Smith returned to the Americas in a voyage to the coasts of Maine and Massachusetts Bay. He made two attempts in 1614 and 1615 to return to the same coast. First a storm dismasted his ship. In the second attempt, he was captured by French pirates off the coast of the Azores. Smith escaped after weeks of captivity and made his way back to England. He died in the year 1631 in London at the age of 51.