EXPLORER

John Smith

1580 - 1631

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John Smith (baptized 6 January 1580 – 21 June 1631) was an English soldier, explorer, colonial governor, admiral of New England, and author. Following his return to England from a life as a soldier of fortune and as a slave, he played an important role in the establishment of the colony at Jamestown, Virginia, the first permanent English settlement in North America, in the early 17th century. He was a leader of the Virginia Colony between September 1608 and August 1609, and he led an exploration along the rivers of Virginia and the Chesapeake Bay, during which he became the first English explorer to map the Chesapeake Bay area. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of John Smith has received more than 384,058 page views. His biography is available in 42 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 39 in 2019). John Smith is the 58th most popular explorer (up from 60th in 2019), the 485th most popular biography from United Kingdom (up from 548th in 2019) and the 8th most popular British Explorer.

John Smith is most famous for his exploration of the New World and his discovery of the Chesapeake Bay.

Memorability Metrics

  • 380k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 64.93

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 42

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 4.62

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 4.23

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among EXPLORERS

Among explorers, John Smith ranks 58 out of 498. Before him are Ernest Shackleton, Diogo Cão, William Adams, Hanno the Navigator, Giovanni Battista Belzoni, and Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld. After him are Henry Hudson, Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse, Diogo Dias, Yaqut al-Hamawi, Vicente Yáñez Pinzón, and Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1580, John Smith ranks 4. Before him are Jan Baptist van Helmont, Josaphat Kuntsevych, and Willebrord Snellius. After him are Köprülü Mehmed Pasha, Ernst von Mansfeld, Charles I Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, Gabriel Bethlen, Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc, Cristóvão Ferreira, Augusta of Denmark, and Andrea Falconieri. Among people deceased in 1631, John Smith ranks 3. Before him are Mumtaz Mahal, and John Donne. After him are Constance of Austria, Willem Janszoon, Archduchess Maria Maddalena of Austria, Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, Charles II Gonzaga, Duke of Nevers, Michael Maestlin, Federico Borromeo, Francesco Maria II della Rovere, and Katō Yoshiaki.

Others Born in 1580

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Others Deceased in 1631

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In United Kingdom

Among people born in United Kingdom, John Smith ranks 485 out of 8,785. Before him are Kate Winslet (1975), Robert Robinson (1886), Diana Rigg (1938), Nick Mason (1944), Margot Fonteyn (1919), and Joseph Lister (1827). After him are John Dowland (1563), John Cleese (1939), Martin Amis (1949), George Everest (1790), Ernest Thompson Seton (1860), and James Callaghan (1912).

Others born in United Kingdom

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Among EXPLORERS In United Kingdom

Among explorers born in United Kingdom, John Smith ranks 8. Before him are Francis Drake (1540), David Livingstone (1813), Henry Morton Stanley (1841), William Baffin (1584), Robert Falcon Scott (1868), and William Adams (1564). After him are Henry Hudson (1570), John Davis (1550), Richard Francis Burton (1821), William Dampier (1651), James Clark Ross (1800), and Robert FitzRoy (1805).

British born Explorers

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