<Tr> <Th> Spouse (s) </Th> <Td> Isabel De Rupodio </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> Signature </Th> </Tr> <P> Hernando de Soto (c. 1495--May 21, 1542) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador who led the first European expedition deep into the territory of the modern - day United States (Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama and most likely Arkansas). He is the first European documented as having crossed the Mississippi River . </P> <P> De Soto's North American expedition was a vast undertaking . It ranged throughout the southeastern United States, both searching for gold, reported by various Indian tribes and earlier explorers, and a passage to China or the Pacific coast . De Soto died in 1542 on the banks of the Mississippi River in what is now Guachoya, Arkansas or Ferriday, Louisiana . </P>

First european known to have crossed the mississippi river (2 wds.)