Henri de Tonti
Henri de Tonti (né Enrico Tonti; c. 1649 – September 1704), also spelled Henri de Tonty, was an Italian-born French military officer, explorer, and voyageur who assisted René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, with North American exploration and colonization from 1678 to 1686. de Tonti was one of the first explorers to navigate and sail the upper Great Lakes. He also sailed the Illinois and the Mississippi, to its mouth and thereupon claimed the length of the Mississippi for Louis XIV of France. He is credited with founding the settlement that would become Peoria, Illinois. De Tonti established the first permanent European settlement in the lower Mississippi valley, known as Poste de Arkansea, making him "The Father of Arkansas."
Henri de Tonti | |
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Portrait attributed to Nicolaes Maes, History Museum of Mobile | |
| Co-founder of Fort St. Louis, Illinois country | |
| In office Founded 1682 | |
| Monarch | Louis XIV of France |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Enrico Tonti c. 1649 Gaeta |
| Died | September 1704 (aged c. 55) Fort Louis, Louisiana (present-day Mobile County, Alabama) |
| Cause of death | Yellow fever |
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| Military service | |
| Allegiance | France |
| Years of service | c. 1668–1676 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Battles | Franco-Dutch War
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