American Quotations by William J. Federer 2024

Captain John Smith (c. January 1580-June 21, 1631) was an English sailor, soldier and author. He helped found the English colony of Virginia on the Chesapeake Bay beginning in 1607. He was rescued from being killed by Indian Chief Powhatan by the intercession his daughter, the young Indian princess, Pocahontas. Captain John Smith had earlier fought the Muslims who were invading Europe. After the battles against the Muslims in the Mediterranean, Spain turned its attention to stopping the spread of the Protestant Reformation by sending its Armada to capture England and Holland in 1588. With 130 ships, 18,000 soldiers, 7,000...

Samuel de Champlain (c.1580-December 25, 1635) was a French navigator, explorer and soldier who was referred to as the "Father of New France." He was the first European to explore and describe the Great Lakes. He founded Quebec City on July 3, 1608, and served as governor of New France till his death. Lake Champlain, which borders Canada and the United States, was named for him. Champlain's travels are documented in The Voyages and Explorations of Samuel de Champlain (1604-1616), narrated by himself, translated by Annie Nettleton Bourne, together with the Voyage of 1603, Reprinted from Purchas His Pilgrimes, edited...

John Robinson (c.1575-March 1, 1625) was the pastor of the Pilgrim fathers in England and Holland, before their departure to America. He wrote several tracts on the Separatist movement, for which he was persecuted. He had fled with the Separatists, or Nonconformists, to Amsterdam in 1608, then to Leiden, Holland in 1609. His congregation grew to 300 members, and he wrote many works, including: A Justification of Separation from the Church of England, 1610; Of Religious Communion, Public and Private, 1614; and On the Lawfulness of Hearing Ministers in the Church of England, 1634. He actively encouraged the Pilgrims to...

John Pory (1572-September 1635) was an author, geographer and the Secretary of State for the Virginia Colony, being appointed by the London Council. He arrived in Virginia on April 19, 1619, and served as member of the Governor's council. On July 30, 1619, when the first legislative assembly in the new world met at Jamestown, John Pory was elected as its Speaker. In the summer of 1622, he left aboard the Discovery and visited Plymouth. The ship was driven off course and wrecked on the Azores Islands. He was captured by the Spaniards and almost hanged, but was able to...

John Donne (1572-March 31, 1631) was one of England's greatest poets. He was the chaplain to King James I, 1615, and dean of St. Paul's, London. Educated at Oxford and Cambridge, his works have inspired many writers. With imagery being drawn from Scholastic philosophy and 17th-century scientific thought, his most famous works include: Songs and Sonnets; Holy Sonnets; and Sermons and Devotions. Ernest Hemingway's novel, For Whom the Bell Tolls, 1940, was inspired by John Donne's line in Devotions upon Emergent Occasions, 1624, "...send not to know for whom the bell tolls: it tolls for thee." John Donne wrote: <No...