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Louis Hennepin

Louis Hennepin, baptized Antoine, (12 May, 1626 Ath, province of Hainaut, Belgium – c.1705) was a Catholic priest and missionary of the Franciscan Recollect order (French: Récollet) and an explorer of the interior of North America.

He became Frenchman in 1659, when Béthune, the town where he lived, was captured by the army of Louis XIV of France

At the request of Louis XIV the Récollets sent four missionaries to New France in May 1675, including Hennepin, accompanied by René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle. In 1678 Hennepin was ordered by his provincial superior to accompany La Salle on a voyage to explore the western part of New France.

Two great waterfalls were brought to the world's attention by Louis Hennepin: Niagara Falls, with the most voluminous flow of any in North America, and the Saint Anthony Falls in what is now Minneapolis, the only waterfall on the Mississippi River.

Hennepin is the author of Description de la Louisiane (Paris, 1683), Nouvelle découverte d'un très grand pays situé dans l'Amérique entre le Nouveau-Mexique et la mer glaciale (Utrecht, 1697), and Nouveau voyage d'un pars plus grand que l'Europe (Utrecht, 1698).

Hennepin County, Minnesota, whose seat is Minneapolis, is named after him, as is a street, Hennepin Avenue, in Minneapolis. Also named after him is Father Hennepin State Park, in central Minnesota.

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Last updated: 08-17-2005 12:57:06
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