Sir Ferdinando Gorges (1565-1647) was an early English colonial entrepreneur in North America and founder of the Province of Maine in 1622. Sir is a British honorary title representing knighthood or baronetcy. ... Events March 1 - the city of Rio de Janeiro is founded April 27 - Cebu City is established becoming the first Spanish settlement in the Philippines. ... // Events March 14 - Thirty Years War: Bavaria, Cologne, France and Sweden sign the Truce of Ulm. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location (dark green) within the British Isles Languages None official English de facto Capital None official London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... The 1622 grant of the Province of Maine is shown outlined in blue. ... Events January 1 - In the Gregorian calendar, January 1 is declared as the first day of the year, instead of March 25. ...

Gorges was born in Ashton Phillips, Somerset, England. In 1601, he became involved in the Essex Conspiracy and later testified against its leader, Robert Devereux. Somerset is a county in the south-west of England. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location (dark green) within the British Isles Languages None official English de facto Capital None official London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001... Events February 8 - Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, rebels against Elizabeth I of England - revolt is quickly crushed February 25 - Robert Devereux beheaded Jesuit Matteo Ricci arrives in China Bad harvest in Russia due to rainy summer Dutch troops drive Portuguese from Málaga Battle of Kinsale, Ireland Births... Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex (10 November 1566 - 25 February 1601), favourite of Queen Elizabeth I of England, is the best-known of the many holders of the title Earl of Essex. He was born at Netherwood in 1566, the son of Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex and...

In 1605, he helped sponsor the expedition of George Weymouth to the mouth of the Kennebec River along the coast of the present day State of Maine in the United States. In 1607, as a shareholder in the Plymouth Company, he helped fund the failed Popham Colony, near present-day Phippsburg, Maine. Gorges never set foot in the New World himself. Events April 13 - Tsar Boris Godunow dies - Feodor II accedes to the throne May 16 - Paul V becomes Pope June 1 - Russian troops in Moscow imprison Feodor II and his mother. ... The course of the Kennebec River The Kennebec River is a river, 150 mi (240 km) long, in the state of Maine in the northeastern United States. ... Events January 20 - Tidal wave swept along the Bristol Channel, killing 2000 people. ... The 1606 grants by James I to the London and Plymouth companies. ... The site of the 1607 Popham Colony in present-day Maine is shown by Po on the map. ... Phippsburg is a town located in Sagadahoc County, Maine. ...

In 1622, Gorges received a land patent, along with John Mason, from the Plymouth Council for New England for the Province of Maine, the original boundaries of which were between the Merrimack and Kennebec rivers. In 1629, he and Mason divided the colony, with Mason's portion south of the Piscataqua River becoming the Province of New Hampshire. Gorges and his nephew established Maine's first court system. Events January 1 - In the Gregorian calendar, January 1 is declared as the first day of the year, instead of March 25. ... Captain John Mason (1586–1635) was born in Norfolk. ... The sea to sea grant of Plymouth Council for New England is shown in green. ... The Merrimack River, formed by the confluence of the Pemigewasset River (left) and Winnipesaukee River (right) is shown on a map of the northeastern United States The Merrimack River (or Merrimac River, an earlier spelling that is sometimes still used) is a 110-mile-long (177-kilometer-long) river in... Events March 4 - Massachusetts Bay Colony is granted a Royal charter. ... The Piscataqua River seen from downtown Portsmouth, New Hampshire The Piscataqua River, in the northeastern United States, is a 12 mi (19 km) long tidal estuary formed by the confluence of the Salmon Falls and Cocheco rivers. ... The New Hampshire Colony was the product of several English land grants dating from 1623 to 1680, and for much of its colonial history was subject to the Massachusetts Colony and its leadership in Boston. ...

He died a destitute man in 1647. Maine later fell under the control of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. // Events March 14 - Thirty Years War: Bavaria, Cologne, France and Sweden sign the Truce of Ulm. ... The Massachusetts Bay Colony (sometimes called the Massachusetts Bay Company, for the institution that founded it) was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England, centered around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston. ...