Samuel de Champlain

August 13^th, 1574 - December 25^th, 1635

Navigator, cartographer, soldier, explorer, geographer, and chronicler of French origin

Father of New France

From 1603 until he died, Samuel de Champlain had only one idea in his head: to create a French empire in North America. From Newfoundland to the Rocky Mountains, from Hudson Bay to the Gulf of Mexico, Champlain's dogged attempts to set up a French colony earned him, from the middle of the 19^th century, the title of "Father of New France."

He founded Québec in 1608 and remained local administrator of the City until his death in 1635, but was never awarded the official title of Governor of New France, even though he did exercise the functions that went with that title.