John Ledyard was born in Groton, Connecticut, and almost immediately became an adventurer, explorer, and world traveler. During the American Revolution, he served in the British Navy, where he sailed with Captain Cook around the world on board the HMS Resolution for four years. Upon his return in 1780, he was sent to Canada to fight against the United States. He promptly deserted, returned to Connecticut, and wrote a memoir of his voyage with Capt. Cook. In 1784, he travelled to Paris to seek funding for a fur business he hoped to establish. The venture failed to achieve its goals, but he was encouraged by Thomas Jefferson and backed by the Marquis de Lafayette and William Smith, among others, to attempt an overland trek across Russia to the American continent, and then to Virginia. He was captured by Catherine the Great and forced to return to London. From there he hoped to mount an expedition to explore Africa, but he died in Cairo, probably from an accidental ingestion of poison.
