Jiménez de Quesada, Gonzalo

(born c. 1495, Córdoba or Granada, Spain—died Feb. 16, 1579, Mariquita, New Granada) Spanish conquistador. He went to the New World as a colonial chief magistrate, then in 1536 he led an expedition of 900 men up the Magdalena River into the central plain of New Granada (modern Colombia), defeating the Chibcha Indians to win the land for Spain. In 1538 two rival conquistadores challenged his claim of conquest; the case was submitted to the crown in Madrid and was inconclusively settled, but Jiménez became the most influential person in New Granada. In 1569 he set out in search of the mythical El Dorado with 500 men; he returned in 1571 with only 25 of his original company.

Source: Encyclopedia Britannica