Hernando DeSoto

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Hernando de Soto (c.1496/1497 – May 21st, 1542) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador who led the first European expedition deep into the territory of the modern-day United States, and the first documented to have crossed the Mississippi River. He is famous for Brave leadership, unwavering loyalty, and clever schemes. But also massacred and raped the natives.

De Soto died of a fever on May 21st, 1542, in the native village of Guachoya (historical sources disagree as to whether de Soto died near present-day McArthur, Arkansas, or in Louisiana)