Samuel de Champlain was a French explorer, navigator (航海家), and mapmaker. He explored much of eastern Canada and became known as "The Father of New France".
Born into a family of sailors, Champlain, while still a young man, began exploring North America. In 1603, he sailed up the Saguenay River and the St. Lawrence River. From 1604 to 1607 Champlain joined in the exploration and settlement of the first permanent(永久的) European settlement north of Florida. Then, in 1608, he established the French settlement that is now Quebec City. He also made the first accurate(精确的) map of the Canadian coast.
Champlain spent most of the rest of his life going between France and Canada. His goals were to map North America and find a quicker way to get to the Pacific Ocean.
In 1629 Quebec was controlled by the English and Champlain was taken to England as a prisoner. When Canada was returned to France in 1633 Champlain returned to Canada as the governor of Quebec and remained in Quebec until his death on Christmas Day in 1635.
Champlain was the first European to explore and describe the Great Lakes, and published maps of his journeys and reports of what he learned from the natives and the French living among the natives. Champlain wasmemorializedas "The Father of New France", and many places and streets in North America use his name. The most famous of these is Lake Champlain, which lies between northern New York and Vermont.
