Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County and is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census,[2] Memphis is the second-most populous city in Tennessee, after Nashville. It is the fifth-most populous city in the Southeast, the nation's 28th-largest overall, and the largest city bordering the Mississippi River. The Memphis metropolitan area includes West Tennessee and the greater Mid-South region, which includes portions of neighboring Arkansas, Mississippi, and the Missouri Bootheel. One of the more historic and culturally significant cities of the southern U.S., Memphis has a wide variety of landscapes and distinct neighborhoods.
The first European explorer to visit the area of present-day Memphis was Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto in 1541. The high Chickasaw Bluffs protecting the location from the waters of the Mississippi was then contested by the Spanish, French, and the English as Memphis took shape. Modern Memphis was founded in 1819 by John Overton, James Winchester, and Andrew Jackson.[6] Memphis grew into one of the largest cities of the Antebellum South. After the American Civil War and the end of slavery, the city experienced continued growth into the 20th century as it became among the largest world markets for cotton and lumber.[7]
Home to Tennessee's largest African American population, Memphis played a prominent role in the American Civil Rights Movement and was the site of Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1968 assassination. The city now hosts the National Civil Rights Museum—a Smithsonian affiliate institution. Since the civil rights era, Memphis has become one of the nation's leading commercial centers in transportation and logistics.[8] The largest employer is FedEx, which maintains its global air hub at Memphis International Airport, making it the busiest cargo airport in the world. The International Port of Memphis also hosts the fifth-busiest inland water port in the U.S.[9] The Globalization and World Cities Research Network considers Memphis a "Sufficiency" level global city as of 2020.[10]
Memphis is a center for media and entertainment, notably a historic music scene.[11] With blues clubs on Beale Street originating the unique Memphis blues sound, the city has been nicknamed the "Home of the Blues". Its music has continued to be shaped by a multicultural mix of influences: country, rock and roll, soul, and hip-hop. The city is home to one major professional sports team, the Grizzlies of the NBA. Other attractions include Graceland, the Memphis Pyramid, Sun Studio, the Blues Hall of Fame and Stax Museum of American Soul Music. Memphis-style barbecue has achieved international prominence, and the city hosts the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest, which attracts over 100,000 visitors to the city annually. Memphis is also home to a number of educational institutions, including the University of Memphis and Rhodes College.
