Samuel de Champlain

Samuel de Champlain (?-1635) was a French navigator. He was born at Brouage, Saintonge, and was the founder of Quebec City and the governor of the French colony. He wrote an account of his voyages which can be found at Project Gutenberg [1].

Birth Date

Scholars disagree as to Champlain's birth date. The Nuttall Encyclopaedia (1907) says he was born in 1570, a calculation is used in Œuvres de Champlain (1870) preface to show that he was probably born in 1567. The Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online points out the ambiguity as to his birth date.