    sir ralph lane (c. 1532 â october 1603)the history of parliament: the house of commons 1509-1558, ed. s.t. bindoff, 1982. lane, ralph (c.1532-1603), of londonsir ralph lane, 1530-1603, raleigh's first roanoke colony, boston: directors of the old south work, 1902, documenting the american south, university of north carolina library, accessed 17 jan 2010 was an english explorer of the elizabethan era. he was part of the unsuccessful attempt in 1585 to colonize roanoke island, north carolina. he also served the crown in ireland and was knighted by the queen in 1593. ==early life and education== ralph's origins have not been proven. according to the oxford dictionary of national biography he was "of unknown parentage and education".oxford university press. oxford dictionary of national biography. oxford university press it has been theorized that his parents were sir ralph lane of orlingbury, hogshaw and horton and maud parr, a cousin of catherine parr, the last queen consort of henry viii, however, no evidence has been found to prove this (for further information please refer to talk:ralph lane). however, the dictionary of national biography, written in 1909 states, "may probably be identified with ralph, the second son of sir ralph lane (d.1541) of horton, northamptonshire, by maud daughter and coheiress of william lord parr of horton and cousin of catherine parr, henry viii's last queen. (collins 1768 iii 164) his seal bore the arms of lane of horton (cal state papers ireland 15 march 1598-9), and the arms assigned him by burke quarter these with those of maud parr (general armoury). in his correspondence, he speaks of nephews william and robert lane (cal state papers ireland 26 dec 1592, 7 june 1595), of a kinsman john durrant (ib) and is associated with a mr feilding (ib 23 june 1593), all of whom appear in the lane pedigree (blore hist. and antig. of rutlandshire p 169). william feilding married dorothy, a daughter of sir ralph lane of horton, and john durrant
1530_births 1603_deaths 16th-century_English_people 17th-century_English_people English_MPs_1558 English_MPs_1563a67 English_explorers Explorers_of_North_America Explorers_of_the_United_States North_Carolina_colonial_people People_from_Devon People_of_Elizabethan_Ireland People_of_the_Tudor_period