Walter Raleigh

Sir Walter Raleigh (c. 1552–1618) was a Devon-born courtier, explorer and writer, and a favourite of Elizabeth I. Knighted in 1585, he received a royal patent to colonise North America and sponsored the Roanoke settlements, naming the territory Virginia.

His secret marriage in 1591 to Elizabeth Throckmorton cost him the queen's favour and the Tower. In 1595 he sailed to Guiana in search of El Dorado. Imprisoned under James I from 1603 for involvement in the Main Plot, he was released in 1616 for a second Guiana voyage; after his men attacked a Spanish outpost, he was executed in 1618.