1675day.year
Jacques Marquette
(1637 - 1675)
French-American missionary and explorer
French-American missionary and explorer
French Jesuit missionary and explorer who co-led the first European expedition to map the northern Mississippi River.
Jacques Marquette was born in 1637 in Laon, France, and joined the Society of Jesus before being sent to New France as a missionary. He founded missions among Native American tribes in the Great Lakes region, earning respect for his linguistic skills and diplomacy. In 1673, Marquette and Louis Jolliet embarked on an expedition that became the first European journey to map the Mississippi River north of the Gulf of Mexico. Their detailed observations paved the way for future colonization and trade routes. Marquette's journals recorded rich ethnographic and geographic information that remains valuable to historians. He aimed to spread Christianity while advocating for the protection of indigenous peoples. Marquette fell ill on the return journey and died in 1675 near the mouth of the river now named after him.
Jacques Marquette