de Soto, Hernando (c. 1496-1542)

Spanish explorer who sailed with Pedro Arias de Avila (c. 1440-1531) to Darien, Central America, in 1519, explored the Yucatán Peninsula in 1528, and travelled with Francisco Pizarro in Peru 1530-35. In 1538 he was made governor of Cuba and Florida. In his expedition of 1539 he explored Florida, Georgia, and the Mississippi River.

Emperor Charles V appointed de Soto governor of Florida in 1537. His expeditions may have penetrated Missouri and Louisiana. Upon his death on May 21, 1542, his companions buried his body in a river to preserve the local Indians' belief that de Soto had descended from heaven.