Excerpt:
Explorer, navigational expert, mathematician, scientist and astronomer Thomas Harriot was born in Oxford about 1560. In 1577 he entered St. Mary's Hall (a subsidiary of Oriel College) and in 1580, shortly after he was graduated B.A., he joined the household of Walter Ralegh. There he prepared Arcticon, a navigational text which has not survived. He also encouraged Ralegh to follow in the footsteps of Sir Humphrey Gilbert in exploring and colonizing the New World. After Gilbert's death in 1583, Ralegh, with Harriot's help, prepared for an expedition to America. Although Ralegh hoped to command the 1584 voyage, Queen Elizabeth would not permit him to do so. Harriot may have gone on this voyage because there is some evidence that it was at this time that he learned the Algonquian language.