Today in History
What went down and why you should care.
may 08 Learn More Hernando de Soto Reaches the Mississippi River
![](https://media1.shmoop.com/images/general/calendar-of-the-day/calendar-of-the-day_0125_may8-hernando-de-soto-mississippi-river.jpg)
Explorer Hernando de Soto reached the Mississippi River on this day in 1541. Just 387 short years later, Chrysler named a car after him. Its logo featured the explorer in his signature morion (that's the metal helmet that was all the rage with explorers of De Soto's era). If you're a mega De Soto fan, we suggest tracking down a Chrysler De Soto, donning your own fashionable morion, and taking a ride across the mighty Mississippi on the Hernando de Soto Bridge. It links Memphis, Tennessee, to West Memphis, Arkansas.
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