A special thanks to Wikipedia.org for following historical information. The sermons I have chosen from Sermonaudio.com
1584 – Sir Walter Raleigh is granted a patent to colonize Virginia.
The following is from Spurgeon's sermon notes on the Martyrdom of Sir Walter Raleigh for his Savior, our Lord Jesus:
"When Sir Walter Raleigh had laid his head upon the block, says an eloquent divine, he was asked by the executioner whether it lay aright. Whereupon, with the calmness of a hero and the faith of a Christian, he returned an answer, the power of which we shall all feel when our head is tossing and turning on death's uneasy pillow: 'It matters little, my friend, how the head lies providing the heart is right.'" from Steel as quoted in Spurgeon's Sermon Notes
