Rene Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, or Robert de La Salle was born on 22nd November 1643 in Rouen, Normandy, France, and he died on 19th March 1687 (aged 43 years) in Huntsville, Texas. Rene is known for leading an expedition to the Mississippi river and claiming the area for France. He named it Louisiana after King Louis XIV. Along the way in this expedition he built Fort Prod’homme at the present day Memphis. On his return trip he established another fort in Illinois called Fort Louis. His expeditions built a network of forts from Canada across the Great Lakes moving into Ohio, Illinois and the Mississippi rivers. This gave the French a stronghold in the New World.
Do you know: Rene gave up his inheritance at the age of 15 to become a Jesuit priest.
