Mahomet Weyonomon

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Mahomet Weyonomon was a Native American tribal chieftan (or "sachem") of the Mohegan tribe from Conneticut, who travelled to England in 1735 to petition King George II for better treatment of his people.

By 1735, the Mohegan people had lost much of their planting and hunting lands to English settlers. Accompanied by two settlers who supported his cause, John and Samuel Mason, Weyonomon travelled to England, where the trio rented accommodation at St Mary Aldermanbury in the City of London while they prepared their petition to the King. The King referred the matter to the Lords Commissioners on Foreign Trade and Plantations, however both John Mason and Weyonomon succumbed to smallpox in 1736 before their case could be heard by the commission.

As a foreigner, he was not permitted to be buried in the City of London, and he was interred in an unmarked grave in what is now Southwark Cathedral. In November 2006, Queen Elizabeth II dedicated a memorial to Mahomet Weyonomon at the cathedral, accompanied by a traditional funeral ceremony conducted by members of the Mohegan tribe.