Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve

Chosen to found a colony on the Island of Montreal, he arrived in New France in 1641, and began work on the fort and other buildings of Ville-Marie the following year. This colony would later become the city of Montreal. Although he was a skillful organizer, he was not popular with the colonial government, and was recalled to France in 1665.

See French colonization of the Americas.