Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos

Hernando de Soto: Quick Facts

Written and fact-checked by
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

The Information Architects maintain a master list of the topics included in the corpus of  EncyclopĂŠdia Britannica, and create and manage the relationships between them.
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Facts

Also Known As Fernando de Soto
Born c.1496 or c.1497 ‱ Spain
Died May 21, 1542 ‱ Louisiana

Photos

Hernando de Soto
Discovery of the Mississippi
Hernando de Soto
Hernando de Soto in Florida
Map of the present-day United States showing the routes taken by early European explorers, each route marked in a different color and labeled in the legend. Major expeditions include those of De Soto, Coronado, Jolliet and Marquette, La Salle, Escalante and Dominguez, Lewis and Clark, Pike, Smith, and Walker, with paths traversing regions from the Atlantic and Gulf coasts through the Midwest to California and the Pacific Northwest. Modern state and international boundaries are also shown for ref
See All Images →
Francisco Pizarro
Francisco Pizarro
Spanish explorer
PĂĄnfilo de NarvĂĄez
PĂĄnfilo de NarvĂĄez
Spanish conquistador and colonial official
default image
Gonzalo Pizarro
Spanish explorer
Hernån Cortés
Hernån Cortés
Spanish conquistador
Vasco NĂșñez de Balboa
Vasco NĂșñez de Balboa
Spanish explorer
default image
Diego de Almagro
Spanish conquistador
default image
Juan BermĂșdez
Spanish navigator
Juan Ponce de LeĂłn
Juan Ponce de LeĂłn
Spanish explorer
default image
José de Acosta
Spanish theologian
Oñate, Juan de
Juan de Oñate
Spanish conquistador
Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, engraving.
Pedro Menéndez de Avilés
Spanish conquistador
Orellana, Francisco de
Francisco de Orellana
Spanish explorer and soldier
Painting depicting Spanish conquistador Diego Velazquez de Cuellar handing command to Hernan Cortes near ships, with crew and indigenous laborers in the background.
Diego Velåzquez de Cuéllar
Spanish conquistador
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
Italian explorer
SimĂłn BolĂ­var
SimĂłn BolĂ­var
Venezuelan soldier and statesman
Alexander von Humboldt
Alexander von Humboldt
German explorer and naturalist
Ferdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan
Portuguese explorer
Pope Leo XIV
Leo XIV
pope
Portrait of Sir Francis Drake with a lace ruff collar, mustache, and short curly hair, painted in oil on panel. The background includes his name in gold lettering.
Sir Francis Drake
English admiral
José de San Martín
José de San Martín
Argentine revolutionary

Related Quizzes

Buzz Aldrin. Apollo 11. Apollo 11 astronaut Edwin Aldrin, photographed July 20, 1969, during the first manned mission to the Moon's surface. Reflected in Aldrin's faceplate is the Lunar Module and astronaut Neil Armstrong, who took the picture.
Exploration and Discovery
Vintage image of students at desks in a classroom with a teacher standing in the background. (education, learning)
Are You Smarter Than a 1912 Middle Schooler? Quiz