Francisco Vasquez de Coronado

Coronado, Francisco Vásquez de (1510–54), Spanish explorer. Coronado was the first European to explore the southwestern United States. Searching for the legendary, gold-laden Seven Cities of Cibola in 1540, he set out from Mexico, traveling through areas that are now Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. Though Coronado found no riches, he introduced the Spanish to the Pueblo and pioneered colonization in the southwestern United States.

See also: Cibola, Seven Cities of.