(?-1619), a colonial governor of Virginia. He was knighted in 1606 for distinguished service in the British army and was sent to Virginia in 1611 with supplies and reinforcements for the colony. As deputy governor and later high marshal, he exercised a policy of coersion and military law which transformed the colony from a refuge for idlers and thieves into an industrious and prosperous community. His rules were known as Dale's Code, and his administration, from 1611 to 1616, as the "five years of slavery."