Memphis is the city in Tennessee, United States. Memphis is a major transport junction, with a busy river port, many rail and highway connections, and an international airport, and is the commercial centre for much of the rich Mississippi River delta farmland. The city is an important cotton market, has large stockyards, and contains numerous manufacturing firms. Products include processed foods, agricultural equipment, chemicals, wood and paper goods, textiles, furniture, medical supplies, and pharmaceuticals. A US Naval air station is nearby. A noted medical and educational centre, Memphis is the site of Rhodes College (1848), Memphis State University (1912), Le Moyne-Owen College (1862), Christian Brothers University (1871), and the Memphis College of Art (1936). It has several museums and art galleries, the Memphis Zoo and Aquarium, an amusement park, many performing-arts organizations, and a sports stadium. The main tourist attraction is Graceland, the opulent home of singer Elvis Presley. The National Civil Rights Museum (1991) stands on the site where Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated in 1968. Chucalissa Indian Village, founded about AD 900 and abandoned in the 16th century, is nearby.

The French built Fort Assumption on the bluffs above the river here in 1739. The area passed to Britain in 1763, and a US fort was erected here in 1797. Memphis was founded in 1819 by Andrew Jackson (later president) and two partners and was named after Memphis in Egypt. Memphis grew as river traffic increased, and it became one of the nation's busiest ports. A long military occupation during the American Civil War and severe recurring yellow-fever epidemics (especially one in 1878) depopulated Memphis and brought bankruptcy; the city's charter was revoked in 1879. Sanitary reforms and renewed activity at the community's natural harbour contributed to its economic recovery and the charter was restored in 1893. Memphis's economy prospered during World War II, and in the 1950s the harbour was developed to provide industrial sites. Population (1980) 646,174; (1990) 610,337.

(Microsoft Encarta 97 Encyclopedia. 1993-1996 Microsoft Corporation.)