Memphis (Tennessee) is a city in extreme southwestern Tennessee, seat of Shelby County. The largest city around the state, Memphis is situated on the Chickasaw Bluffs overlooking the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers.
The city's several museums include the National Civil Rights Museum, on the site where Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated around 1968; the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art; and also the Children's Museum of Memphis. There are also numerous art galleries, the Memphis Zoo and Aquarium, an amusement park, numerous performing-arts organizations, a sports stadium, along with an entertainment and sports arena called the Pyramid. Tourist attractions include sightseeing cruises within the Mississippi River; Graceland, the former home of singer Elvis Presley; and Beale Street, a music and entertainment district made famous by blues composer W. C. Handy. Historic sites include the Magevney House (constructed in the 1830s) and various Victorian-style structures. Mud Island, a downtown river park, features the history of the Mississippi River. On the city is Chucalissa Archaeological Museum, on the site of a Native American settlement established about AD 1000 and abandoned in the 16th century. The city's yearly activities include the month-long Memphis in May International Festival, which focuses on a different sort of culture each year, and the Blues Festival.
History
The Memphis area was originally settled by the Chickasaw people. Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto reached the Mississippi River near the site of present-day Memphis in 1541. The French constructed Fort Assumption on the bluffs over the river here in 1739. The area passed to Great Britain in 1763, and a U.S. fort was built here in 1797. In 1818 the Chickasaw ceded the territory to the United States government. Memphis, founded in 1819 by Andrew Jackson (later president) and two partners, was named for Memphis, Egypt. Memphis grew as river traffic increased. It grew to be one of the nation's busiest ports and was incorporated in 1849.
Early into the American Civil War the city was a significant Confederate military center, and it served as temporary state capital in 1862. Memphis was captured by Union forces after a river battle (June 1862) in which federal gunboats sank or captured seven out of eight Confederate vessels, and the city stayed in Union hands until the end of the war. The long military occupation and severe continuing yellow-fever epidemics (particularly one in 1878) depopulated Memphis and brought bankruptcy; the city's charter has been revoked in 1879. Sanitary reforms and restored activity at the community's natural harbor led to its economic recovery, and the charter was restored in 1893. Memphis's economy prospered during World War II (1939-1945), and in the 1950s the harbor was developed to provide a number of industrial sites. In the 1980s community leaders and government officials launched economic reforms, marketing Memphis as a distribution center. In 1991 W. W. Herenton became the city's first black mayor.
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