When the explorer Hernando De Soto and his army arrived in 1541, they were the first Europeans set their settlements at the Fourth Chickasaw Buff, bear the site of the future city of Memphis.
The City Of Memphis Tennessee was founded in 1819 by Andrew Jackson, John Overton and Andrew Jackson. The three men decided to name the town Memphis after the ancient capital of Egypt which lay in the Nile River.
You can find more on the history of the founding of the city in Memphis Travel.
Hamilton Historical Records 