Captain John Smith was a famous explorer who was born in England in 1580. He rose to prominence in 1608 when he became the president of the Jamestown colony, the first English settlement in America. In 1690, Smith left Jamestown to receive treatment for an injury caused by gunpowder and did not return to America until 1614 when he mapped and re-named New England. 

Historians know very little about the later years of John Smith's life but he did produce a number of books on his seafaring adventures. Exactly how he met his death remains a mystery to historians because the details were never recorded. But they know that he died in London sometime between June 20 and June 31 1631 (perhaps of a short illness), at the age of 51.