La Vérendrye, Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, Sieur de << lah vay rahn dree, pyair goh tyay duh vah rehn, syur duh >> (1685-1749), was a French-Canadian fur trader and explorer. In 1731, La Vérendrye, three of his sons, and a nephew set out from Montreal to find an overland route to the Pacific Ocean. By 1738, after many false starts, they got as far west as what are now Saskatchewan and the Dakotas. Two of the sons may have reached the Rocky Mountains in 1742. Along the way, La Vérendrye established eight outposts that served as forts and fur-trading stations, and he claimed much land for France. His reports added to geographical knowledge of the area. His fur-trading business was unprofitable, and he returned to Montreal in 1743.
La Vérendrye was born in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, on Nov. 17, 1685. He served in the French Army in Canada and France before he began exploring. La Vérendrye died on Dec. 5, 1749.
