Jonathan Archer

Jonathan Archer (2112-2245) was the fifth President of the United Federation of Planets, and one of the most important historical figures of the 22nd century and in all of interstellar history.

The son of famed warp specialist Henry Archer, Jonathan was appointed captain of Starfleet's first Warp 5 starship, Enterprise NX-01 in 2151; his leadership aboard Enterprise would help establish United Earth as a legitimate interstellar power and pave the way for a whole-scale revolution in Alpha Quadrant politics, leading to the establishment of the United Federation of Planets. As an explorer and peacemaker, Archer's name is among the most recognized in the Federation, and his pioneering voyages aboard Enterprise are known to schoolchildren on dozens of worlds, many of which were unknown to Humans in Archer's lifetime.

Early life
Jonathan Archer, the son of Henry and Sally Archer, was born in Upstate New York in 2112. From an early age, Jonathan had an interest in space flight and technology, such as the model starship he built with his father at the age of nine. (ENT novelization Broken Bow and episode "North Star")

In the 2130s, Archer attended Earth Starfleet Flight School based in San Francisco. During his time there, he had a relationship with Margaret Mullin. The day before graduating from Flight School, Archer proposed to Mullin outside of her apartment on Westgate Avenue, but she turned him down, stating that she did not want to become a "Starfleet widow." 

By 2143, Archer was a Commander working on the NX Program, the legacy of his now-deceased father's work. There he met A.G. Robinson and Charles Tucker III, both of whom became close friends. The first prototype, the NX-Alpha, with a mission to break the Warp 2 barrier, was destroyed during flight. Robinson, piloting the flight, became the first person to eject in an escape pod while at warp. On the suggestion by Vulcan advisors that the engine design required further simulation and bench-testing, the NX Program was cancelled after this incident. Convinced the design was already sound, the cancellation did not stop Archer and Robinson, with assistance from Tucker, from making an unauthorized test flight using the NX-Beta prototype. They successfully launched the Beta and used the ship to reach a speed of Warp 2.5. With this obvious success, the program was reconsidered and subsequently reinstated by Starfleet Command; however, as a result of their actions, Archer and Robinson were grounded for three months, pending an inquiry. 

Captain of Enterprise
Archer IV, which orbits 61 Ursae Majoris, was the first M-Class world charted by the famous explorer. Although the planet was uninhabitable throughout the 22nd century due to toxic pollen in the atmosphere, an antidote to the pollen was discovered early in the 2200s. Today, the population of Archer IV numbers more than seven hundred million.

Perhaps Archer's most historically important mission was the Xindi Crisis. On March 22, 2153, a prototype Xindi weapon appeared in orbit over Earth, cutting a swath from Florida to Venezuela, killing seven million people. Enterprise was recalled and outfitted with new weapons, then ordered to enter the mysterious Delphic Expanse. There, the crew discovered that the Xindi had been manipulated into attacking Earth by the Sphere Builders, a faction from a possible future timeline who were attempting to alter their history so that Humanity was wiped out and unable to found the Federation, which had been responsible for repelling a Sphere Builder invasion in their version of the 26th century.

Archer and his crew successfully destroyed the Sphere Builder artifacts responsible for the Expanse's existence, convince the majority of the Xindi Council that Earth posed no threat, and managed to destroy the Xindi superweapon before it could destroy Earth. Archer later became known as the man who delivered humanity from the Xindi for this mission. (ENT episodes: "The Xindi," "Zero Hour," et al.)

In May of 2159, Archer and Enterprise saved a Vulcan scientist named T'Uerell from the Romulans. After this, there were a series of missions that Archer was assigned to, and came to learn that T'Uerell was behind many disasters in the Alpha Quadrant, including infecting planets with toxins, destroying a Starfleet facility with crewmembers on board, and attempting to use toxins to annihilate Earth. This plan was thwarted by Archer and his task force. T'Uerell went into hiding and was not heard from until the late 23rd century, where she was intercepted by James T. Kirk and the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701). (ST video game: Legacy)

Archer served onboard Enterprise throughout the entirety of the Earth-Romulan War (2156-2160). Not long after, in 2161, Archer was one of the signatories of the Articles of the Federation, which gave birth to the United Federation of Planets.

Archer is signified as one of the founding fathers of the Federation, and has been deemed a great and influential leader of its early days. Historian John Gill also called Archer "the greatest explorer of the 22nd century." (ENT episodes: "In a Mirror, Darkly," "These Are the Voyages...")

Archer earned an impressive list of commendations during his career, including a Medal of Valor, with clusters, the Star Cross, the Preantares Ribbon of Commendation, and the Federation Citation of Honor. He was also appointed an honorary member of the Andorian Imperial Guard by General Thy'lek Shran in 2164. He is the only Human to have two planets named in his honor: Archer's Planet in the Gamma Trianguli sector, and Archer IV as mentioned above.

Later life
After retiring from Starfleet as Chief of Staff, Archer continued working to improve interspecies relations as Ambassador to Andoria from 2169 to 2175, when he was elected to the position of Federation Councillor from United Earth. He ascended to the presidency in 2185, serving two terms before finally retiring.

Archer died peacefully at the age of 133 in his home in upstate New York in 2245, exactly one day after attending the christening ceremony of the first Federation starship named in honor of his Enterprise, the Constitution class USS Enterprise (NCC-1701). (ENT episode: "In a Mirror, Darkly," part 2)


 * Presumably, as the Federation became an integrated nation-state, the need for a Federation Ambassador to one of its own Members later ended and the position later abolished. The presidential succession box follows a conjectural timeline whereby Archer is the fifth president, serving two terms after Avaranthi sh'Rothress.


 * Note: The information listed as coming from the Enterprise episode In a Mirror, Darkly, comes from a biography of Jonathan Archer written by Enterprise series writer Mike Sussman. Most of the info from the bio appeared on screen in the episode. The 2184 start year for Archer's presidency conflicts with the four-year term system established in Articles of the Federation; given that that same screen contains canonically incorrect information, claiming that Archer's command of Enterprise'' NX-01 ended one year earlier than it did, the screen is presumed to be in error, or to be referring to the year of his election rather than the year he took office.

The following is a full transcription of the bio as written by Mike Sussman:''

Starfleet Biography, circa 2268

 * STARFLEET PERSONNEL FILE: Archer, Jonathan
 * Serial Number: SA-022-9237-CY
 * Rank at retirement: Admiral, Chief of Staff, Starfleet Command
 * Former Assignments:
 * Commanding officer, Enterprise NX-01, 2150-2160
 * Ambassador to Andoria, 2169-2175
 * Federation Councilman, 2175-2183
 * President, UFP 2184-2192
 * Birthplace: Upstate New York, North America, Earth
 * Parents: Henry and Sally Archer


 * Son of famed warp specialist Henry Archer, Jonathan Archer was appointed captain of Starfleet's first warp five starship, Enterprise NX-01. As an explorer and peacemaker, his name is among the most recognized in the Federation, and his pioneering voyages aboard the Enterprise are known to school children on dozens of worlds, many of which were unknown to humans in Archer's lifetime. Historian John Gill called Archer the "greatest explorer of the 22nd Century." Archer earned an impressive list of commendations during his career, including a Medal of Valor, with clusters, the Star Cross, the Preantares Ribbon of Commendation, and the Federation Citation of Honor. Archer was also appointed an honorary member of the Andorian Guard by General Thy'lek Shran in 2164. He's the only human to have two planets named in his honor: Archer's Planet in the Gamma Trianguli sector, and Archer IV, which orbits 61 Ursae Majoris. Archer IV was the first M-Class world charted by the famous explorer. Although the planet was uninhabitable throughout the 22nd Century due to toxic pollen in the atmosphere, an antidote to the pollen was discovered early in the 2200's. Today, the population of Archer IV numbers more than seven hundred million.
 * Archer died peacefully in his home in upstate New York in the year 2245, exactly one day after attending the christening ceremony of the first Federation Starship Enterprise, NCC-1701.

Alternate Versions
In an alternate timeline, while in the Delphic Expanse in 2153, Archer sustained injuries which crippled his brain's ability to form new long-term memories, leaving him unable to recall more than the last few hours (and the whole of his life up to the point of injury). In this condition, he was unable to continue in command. The Enterprise was unable to stop the Xindi plot against Earth in time, the planet was destroyed, and the Xindi exterminated every human colony they could locate. Archer, under the care of T'Pol, was one of the survivors who relocated to a secret colony on Ceti Alpha V. 

Mirror Universe
For Archer's Mirror Universe counterpart, see Jonathan Archer (mirror).