Étienne Brûlé

Étienne Brûlé (1592?-1632), French explorer, born in Champigny-sur-Marne. Brûlé was a member of the expedition led by the French explorer Samuel de Champlain in 1608 that resulted in the founding of Québec, Canada. In 1610 Champlain sent Brûlé to live among the Huron. Brûlé learned their language and served Champlain as an interpreter. In 1615 he was a member of Champlain's expedition that explored Lake Huron and Lake Ontario. The following year Brûlé was captured and tortured by the Iroquois.

Brûlé's later explorations are difficult to trace, but it is known that he explored the Susquehanna River as far as the Chesapeake Bay, and he is believed to have been the first European to see most of the Great Lakes. From about 1618 to 1629 Brûlé lived among the Huron people, while he collected furs for the French. He turned against the French in 1629 and served as pilot on the St. Lawrence River for the British naval expedition that captured Québec and took Champlain prisoner. Brûlé returned to the Great Lakes to live with the Hurons, but was killed by hostile indigenous peoples.