DeSoto Discovers the Mississippi

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On May 8, 1541, Hernando de Soto's expedition in the New World discovered the Mississippi River. The expedition had started out in Florida, in April 1538. It ended in September 1542, when the remnants of the expedition arrived in Mexico. The expedition left behind a trail of slain Indians. De Soto himself died of fever three weeks after arriving on the Mississippi. The expedition had actually crossed the River upstream earlier but had not realized it.