Pocahontas, Matoaka (c. 1595–1617)

American Indian alleged to have saved the life of the English colonist John Smith when he was captured by her father, the Indian chief Powhatan. She was kidnapped in 1613 by an Englishman, Samuel Argall, and later married the colonist John Rolfe (1585–1622) and was entertained as a princess at the English court of James I.

Pocahontas's marriage and conversion to Christianity brought about a period of peaceful relations between Indians and settlers, but she fell ill and died on her journey back to Virginia. Her son subsequently returned to Virginia and is claimed as an ancestor by many prominent families in the state. John Randolph of Roanoke claimed descent from her.