John Palmer was an Englishman

Englishman

Englishman may refer to:*English people*Grey Partridge*Jason Englishman, Canadian rock music singer and guitarist*Jenny-Bea Englishman, real name of the Canadien singer Esthero*Erald Briscoe, reggae musician who records under the name Englishman...

 who purchased the land comprising much of the neighborhood now known as Far Rockaway in the borough of Queens in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 in 1685 from the Native American

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

 chief Tackapousha

Tackapousha

Tackapousha was a Native American chief who was the first person to sell land in the Rockaway Peninsula to a person of European background when he sold the present-day Far Rockaway to an Englishman named John Palmer in 1685....

 for 31 English pounds. Palmer sold most of the land to Richard Cornell

Richard Cornell

Richard Cornell was an English Quaker ironmaster and resident of Long Island who is generally considered the first European settler on the Rockaway Peninsula in the present-day Borough of Queens, New York City...

 in 1687.

The Palmer's Landing neighborhood in the Arverne By The Sea development in Arverne is named after him.