(baptized Feb. 23, 1680, Montreal, New France
died March 7, 1767, Paris, France) French explorer, colonial governor of Louisiana, and founder of New Orleans.
He served with the French navy in King William's War. He accompanied his brother Pierre Iberville on expeditions to the mouth of the Mississippi River. They founded a settlement in 1699, and he later commanded the colony of Louisiana (1701–12, 1717–23). He founded New Orleans in 1718 and made it the colony's capital in 1722. Recalled to France in 1723, he returned to serve as governor of Louisiana (1733–43).