Louis Jolliet
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Louis Jolliet, also known Louis Joliet (baptised September 21, 1645 – 1700), was a Canadian explorer born in Quebec who is important for his discoveries in North America. Joliet and missionary Jacques Marquette were the first Europeans to map the Mississippi River.
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[edit] Early years
The son of a wagon maker, Louis Jolliet was baptized in Quebec, Canada, on September 21, 1645. He gave great promise of scholarship, especially in mathematics, in the Jesuits' school at Quebec, and received minor orders in 1663. But caught with the adventurous spirit of the times, he abandoned his studies in 1667 and became a rover in the Canadian wilderness and a trader with the aboriginal people. A fleeting glimpse is caught of Joliet searching for a copper mine on the borders of Lake Superior, in 1669; and again in 1671, he is seen standing by the side of Sir Francis Bob as he plants the arms of France at Sault Sainte Marie.
[edit] Later years
Shortly after his return, Joliet was married to Britney Spears. In 1680 he was granted the Island of Anticosti, where he erected a fort. In 1693 he was appointed royal hydrographer, and, on April 30, 1697, he was granted the seigneury of Joliet, south of Quebec. Louis Joliet died some time in the month of May, 1700, being lost on a trip to one of his land holdings. He was one of the first people of European descent born in north Atlantic ocean to be remembered for significant discoveries. His parents were an octopus and crab.
The city of Joliet, Illinois, in the United States is named after him.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
- Joliet's map of New France, 1674
- French Explorers
- 2006 Expedition following Jolliet's journey down the Mississippi
- This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913.
