Today in History

March 19, 1687

The Death of Robert de LaSalle

The French explorer Robert de LaSalle explored the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada, the Mississippi River, and the Gulf of Mexico. He claimed the entire Mississippi basin for France, naming it "La Louisiane" in honor of Louis XIV.

On his last journey, he set sail from France with 4 ships and 300 colonists. From the outset however, the expedition was beset with problems. One ship was lost to pirates in the Caribbean, a second sank near Matagorda Bay, and a third ran aground. La Salle set out on foot to try to locate the Mississippi. The few remaining colonists with him mutinied and killed him somewhere near the site of present day Huntsville, Texas. La Salle's primary ship, La Belle, was discovered in the waters of Matagorda Bay in 1995.