Cavelier de la Salle discovers Louisiana

The name of a place tells half the story: Louisiana or Louisiane in French starts with Louis as in Louis XIV... Bourbon Street refers to the family name of the same king. New Orleans refers to both the city of Orleans in France as well as the cadette branch of the Bourbon family...

Back in the 15h century, European navigators explored the seas and the oceans. Cavelier de la Salle, sent by the sun king, sailed the lakes in Canada and down a river later known as the Mississippi. On 9 April 1682, he gave the name Louisiana to that distant land in honor of his king...