Jean de Béthencourt
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Jean de Béthencourt (c. 1360 - 1422), was a French explorer who, in 1402, led an expedition to the Canary Islands, landing first on the north side of Lanzarote. From there, he conquered Fuerteventura and Hierro. Béthencourt received the title King of the Canary Islands but recognized King Henry III of Castile, who had provided aid during the conquest, as his overlord.
Béthencourt set sail with some 53 men from La Rochelle on May 1, 1402. After he reached Cádiz in Spain, and staying there for several weeks, most of his men deserted.
To this day, Betancourt and other forms of his surname are quite frequent among Canary Islanders and people of Canary Islander descent. Examples include former Colombian president Belisario Betancur, former Venezuelan president Rómulo Betancourt, and Hermano Pedro de San José de Betancurt, a saint of the Roman Catholic Church. Other modern notables in recent news are Venezuelan baseball player Rafael Betancourt, Portuguese-born American musician Nuno Bettencourt, and Colombian-French activist/politician Ingrid Betancourt.
The city of Betancuria, on Fuerteventura, which he helped found, is named after Béthencourt.
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