Ferdinando Gorges

Sir Ferdinando Gorges (1565 to 1647) was a wealthy British knight. He was increasingly interested in setting up a colony in the New World and helped sponsor George Weymouth's expedition to the mouth of the Kennebec in 1605. He was also responsible for funding the failed Popham Colony, near present-day Phippsburg. Curiously, he never set foot on American soil.

Gorges became known as the Lord Proprietor of the Province of Maine. He and his nephew established Maine's first court system.

He died a destitute man in 1647, and Maine subsequently fell under the control of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.