James Edward Oglethorpe
Oglethorpe was born on December 22, 1696, in London, England. It was through his initiatives in England in 1732 that the British government authorized the establishment of its first new colony in North America. Later that year he led the expedition of colonists that landed in Savannah early in 1733. He directed the economic and political development of the new colony, defended it militarily, and continued to recruit settlers from England and other parts of Europe.