He was the first Governor of the Plymouth Colony. He was one of the signatories of the Mayflower Compact. Carver was born in Nottinghamshire, England. In 1609, he joined a group of Separatists (Pilgrim Fathers) that fled to escape persecution from the Church of England. He eventually made his way to Holland and then to England. In 1620, he sailed with the Pilgrims to America on the Mayflower.
* The group first settled in Massachusetts, but they soon moved to Plymouth.
* He was elected governor in December 1620 and served until his death in April 1621.
* He oversaw the construction of the colony's first houses and established a trading relationship with the Wampanoag people.
* Carver also helped to negotiate the Treaty of Plymouth, which established peace between the English and the Wampanoag.
John Carver died of "a sudden sicknes" on April 5, 1621. He was the first person to die in Plymouth Colony. His wife Katherine Carver and their five children also died in the first winter in America.