This Year in History:
1542
Discover what happened in this year with HISTORY’s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.
On the banks of the Mississippi River in present‑day Louisiana, Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto dies, ending a three‑year journey for gold that took him halfway across what is now…
On September 28, 1542, the Spanish explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo arrives in San Diego Bay while searching for the Strait of Anian, a mythical all‑water route across North America. Cabrillo…
In Linlithgow Palace in Scotland, a daughter is born to James V, the dying king of Scotland. Named Mary, she was the only surviving child of her father and ascended…
