De La Warr, Thomas West, 12th Baron

(born July 9, 1577—died June 7, 1618, at sea off the coast of Virginia or New England) English founder of Virginia. After serving under the earl of Essex in the Netherlands and Ireland, he became a member of the Virginia Company and was appointed governor of the colony in 1610. He and 150 settlers arrived at Jamestown as another group was abandoning it. He established two forts at the mouth of the James River and rebuilt Jamestown. Delaware Bay, the Delaware River, and the state of Delaware were named for him.

Source: Encyclopedia Britannica