A state of the southeast United States. It was admitted as the 16th state in 1796. Visited by the Spanish in 1540, the region was explored by Daniel Boone in 1769 and became part of the United States in 1783. The short-lived state of Franklin (1784-1788) formed the basis for the Territory of the United States South of the River Ohio (1790) and the later state of Tennessee. Nashville is the capital and Memphis the largest city.