born с 1490, Extremadura, Castile
died с 1560, Sevilla, Spain
Spanish explorer.
He took part in an expedition that reached what is now Tampa Bay, Fla., U.S., in 1528. One of only four members of the expedition to survive, he spent eight years in the Gulf region of modern Texas. His accounts of the legendary Seven Cities of Cíbola probably inspired the extensive explorations of North America by Hernando de Soto and Francisco Vázquez de Coronado .