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.