Entrepreneur,  Diplomat. First Governor of the East India Company. He was the son of a leading customs officer and made his fortune as a merchant, being a member of the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers and the Worshipful Company of Skinners. In 1600 he was elected as the first Governor of the newly formed East India Company, a post he held for over twenty years. He was made Special Ambassador to the Tsar of Russia in 1604 and from 1609 until 1620 served as Commissioner to the Royal Navy and also treasurer of the Virginia Company. He also made a contribution to the field of exploration and financed voyages to discover the North West Passage. William Baffin named Smith’s Sound in his honour. (bio by: js)  Family links:  Parents:  Thomas Smythe (1530 – 1591)  Alice Judde Smythe (1535 – 1593)  Spouse:  Sarah Blount Sidney (1580 – 1655)*  Children:  John Smythe*  Thomas Smythe (____ – 1618)*  Dorothy Smythe (____ – 1627)*  Siblings:  Robert Smythe*  Alice Smythe Harris (1556 – 1615)*  John Smythe (1556 – 1608)*  Thomas Smythe (1558 – 1625)  Henry Smythe (1560 – 1640)*  Margaret Smythe (1562 – 1580)*  Katherine Smythe Hayward (1564 – 1615)*  Symon Smythe (1566 – 1596)*  Elizabeth Smythe Fanshawe (1572 – 1631)* *Calculated relationship