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Samuel de Champlain
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Black and white portrait of Samuel de Champlain with shoulder-length hair, a pointed beard, and a mustache, wearing a wide white collar and dark clothing. Map showing the routes of Samuel de Champlain's explorations in northeastern North America, with color-coded arrows marking his voyages in 1603 (green, along the St. Lawrence River to the Gaspe Peninsula), 1604 (red, along the Atlantic coast to Cape Cod), 1609 (purple, from Quebec to Lake Champlain), and 1615-1616 (orange, from the St. Lawrence River through the Ottawa River and Great Lakes region). Key locations such as Quebec, Lake Champlain, Lake Ontario, and Lake Huron are labeled. Map of Canada showing the exploration routes taken by various European explorers from the 16th to 19th centuries, marked with different colored and patterned lines. The routes trace paths along major rivers, lakes, the Arctic coast, and the Pacific and Atlantic coasts, illustrating efforts to find the Northwest Passage and expand fur trading. Key explorers and their paths are identified in a legend. Bronze statue of Samuel de Champlain standing on a pedestal, holding a hat in his outstretched hand, against a clear blue sky in Quebec City, Canada. Samuel de Champlain Samuel de Champlain Quebec: Champlain Monument Map showing the routes of Samuel de Champlain's explorations in northeastern North America from 1603 to 1616, marked with different dashed and solid red lines for each expedition year. The map highlights major waterways including the St. Lawrence River, Lake Champlain, Lake Ontario, Lake Huron, and Cape Cod. An inset at the top left features a black-and-white portrait of Champlain.
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Samuel de Champlain summary
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Buzz Aldrin. Apollo 11. Apollo 11 astronaut Edwin Aldrin, photographed July 20, 1969, during the first manned mission to the Moon's surface. Reflected in Aldrin's faceplate is the Lunar Module and astronaut Neil Armstrong, who took the picture.
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Mayflower. Plymouth. Photograph of the Mayflower II a full-scale reproduction of the Mayflower. The Mayflower II built in Devon, England, crossed the Atlantic in 1957 maintained by Plimoth Plantation in Plymouth, MA.
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Samuel de Champlain: References & Edit History

Additional Reading

The Works of Samuel de Champlain, ed. by H.P. Biggar, 6 vol. (1922–36, reissued 1971), is the chief reference of the biographers. Biographies include Morris Bishop, Champlain: The Life of Fortitude (1948, reprinted 1979); and Samuel Eliot Morison, Samuel de Champlain, Father of New France (1972).

Article Contributors

Primary Contributors

  • C.T. Ritchie
  • The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
    Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.

Other Encyclopedia Britannica Contributors

Article History

Type Description Contributor Date
Modified link of Web site: Heritage History - Samuel de Champlain, the Father of New France. May 16, 2026
Anniversary information added. Dec 21, 2025
Add new Web site: Heritage History - Samuel de Champlain, the Father of New France. Nov 29, 2025
Add new Web site: Vermont Historical Society - Samuel de Champlain and the Naming of Vermont (PDF). May 05, 2025
Questions and answers added. Feb 11, 2025
Add new Web site: Annenberg Learner - Samuel de Champlain (c. 1570-1635). Nov 08, 2024
First paragraph modernization. Feb 21, 2024
Add new Web site: New England Historical Society - How Samuel de Champlain Started a War. Dec 17, 2023
Add new Web site: Canadian Museum of History - Biography of Samuel de Champlain. Dec 15, 2022
Revised nomenclature related to First Nations peoples. May 03, 2022
Add new Web site: The Mariners' Museum and Park - The Ages of Exploration - Samuel de Champlain. Mar 13, 2022
Add new Web site: National Park Service - Samuel de Champlain. Mar 13, 2022
Media added. Jan 13, 2021
Changed his birth year from "1567" to "1567?" May 22, 2019
Corrected display issue. Mar 08, 2019
Media added. Jan 24, 2019
Anniversary information added. Jan 01, 2019
Corrected display issue. Dec 27, 2017
Add new Web site: PBS - Dead Reckoning: Champlain in America. Feb 17, 2017
Media added. Feb 02, 2016
Add new Web site: Dictionary of Canadian Biography - Samuel de Champlain. Dec 10, 2013
Add new Web site: Canada History - Biography of Samuel de Champlain. May 15, 2013
Add new Web site: PBS - Empire of the Bay - Samuel de Champlain. May 15, 2013
Add new Web site: United States History - Biography of Samuel de Champlain. May 15, 2013
Add new Web site: Canadian Museum of Civilization - Samuel de Champlain. May 15, 2013
Add new Web site: Elizabethan Era - Biography of Samuel de Champlain. May 15, 2013
Add new Web site: The Canadian Encyclopedia - Samuel de Champlain. Dec 28, 2012
Added map of Champlain's explorations. Apr 09, 2010
Added new Web site: Enchanted Learning - Biography of Samuel de Champlain. Apr 09, 2009
Added new Web site: How Stuff Works - History - Biography of Samuel De Champlain. Nov 11, 2008
Added new Web site: Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online - Biography of Champlain, Samuel De. Aug 21, 2007
Added new Web site: The Official Site of Samuel de Champlain. Aug 21, 2007
Added new Web site: The Catholic Encyclopedia - Biography of Samuel de Champlain. Aug 21, 2007
Added new Web site: The Canadain Encyclopedia - Biography of Samuel de Champlain. Aug 21, 2007
Added new Web site: ThinkQuest - Biography of Samuel de Champlain. Aug 21, 2007
Added new Web site: Blupete - Biography of Samuel de Champlain. Aug 20, 2007
Media added. May 15, 2007
Article added to new online database. Jul 20, 1998
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