Antoine Hennepin was born in Ath in the Spanish Netherlands.
12 Facts About Louis Hennepin
2.
Henri Joulet, who accompanied Louis Hennepin and wrote his own journal of their travels, called Louis Hennepin a Fleming, although Ath was and still is a Romance-speaking area found in present-day Wallonia.
3.
Louis Hennepin joined the Franciscans, and preached in Halles and in Artois.
4.
Louis Hennepin was then put in charge of a hospital in Maestricht.
5.
In 1676 Louis Hennepin went to the Indian mission at Fort Frontenac, and from there to the Mohawks.
6.
In 1678, Louis Hennepin was ordered by his provincial superior to accompany La Salle on an expedition to explore the western part of New France.
7.
Louis Hennepin departed in 1679 with La Salle from Quebec City to construct the 45-ton barque Le Griffon, sail through the Great Lakes, and explore the unknown West.
8.
Shortly thereafter, Louis Hennepin was captured by a Sioux war party and carried off for a time into what is the state of Minnesota.
9.
Louis Hennepin returned to France and was never allowed by his order to return to North America.
10.
Two great waterfalls were brought to Europe'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 Minneapolis, the only natural waterfall on the Mississippi River.
11.
Louis Hennepin has been denounced by many historians and historical critics as an arrant falsifier.
12.
Places named after Louis Hennepin are found in the United States and Canada:.