West Memphis, city (1990 pop. 28,259), Crittenden co., NE Ark., next to the Mississippi River (there bridged to Memphis, Tenn.); founded c.1910 as Bragg's Spur, inc. as a city under its present name 1927. It is a timber and cotton center with diverse industries, including the manufacture of machinery, chemicals, petroleum products, paper, and fabricated metal goods. A greyhound-racing park is there.

Memphis, University of, at Memphis, Tenn.; coeducational; opened 1912 as a normal school, became West Tennessee State Teachers College in 1925. The school was renamed Memphis State College in 1941 and in 1957 received university status as Memphis State Univ.; it was renamed in 1994. It is the flagship institution of Tennessee's state university system. Research facilities include the Meeman Biological Field Station, the Chucalissa Museum, the Institute of Egyptian Art and Archaeology, and the Center for Earthquake Research and Information.

Memphis, ancient city of Egypt, capital of the Old Kingdom (c.3100-c.2258 B.C.), at the apex of the Nile delta and 12 mi (18 km) from Cairo. It was reputedly founded by Menes, the first king of united Egypt. Its god was Ptah. The temple of Ptah, the palace of Apries, and two huge statues of Ramses II are among the most important monuments found at the site. The necropolis of Sakkara, near Memphis, was a favorite burial place for pharaohs of the Old Kingdom. A line of pyramids begins near the necropolis, extending for 20 mi (32 km) to Giza. Memphis remained important during the long dominance by Thebes and became the seat of the Persian satraps (525 B.C.). Second only to Alexandria under the Ptolemies and under Rome, it finally declined with the founding of nearby Fustat by the Arabs, and its ruins were largely removed for building in the new city and, later, in Cairo.

Memphis, city (1990 pop. 610,337), seat of Shelby co., SW Tenn., on the Fourth, or Lower, Chickasaw Bluff above the Mississippi, at the mouth of the Wolf River; inc. 1826. A river port with excellent anchorages on the Wolf, Memphis is the largest city in the state, a port of entry, a rail and air distribution center, and a leading hardwood lumber, cotton, and livestock market. Its wide variety of manufactures includes textiles, consumer goods, paints, and automotive parts. A number of corporations have national headquarters in the city. Trans-Mississippi bridges connect Memphis with Arkansas.

De Soto is said to have crossed the Mississippi near the site of Memphis. The area was strategically important during the time of the British, French, and Spanish rivalries in the 18th cent. A U.S. fort was erected in 1797. The city was established (1819) by Andrew Jackson, Marcus Winchester, and John Overton. In the Civil War it fell, on June 6, 1862, to a Union force led by the elder Charles Henry Davis. Severe yellow-fever epidemics occurred in the 1870s, and thousands died. So many people fled the city that its charter had to be surrendered (1879); it was not restored until 1891. E. H. "Boss" Crump ruled Memphis from 1909 until his political hold was broken after 1948.

The city is the seat of the Univ. of Memphis, the Univ. of Tennessee Medical Units, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Rhodes College, Christian Brothers Univ., Le Moyne-Owen College, the Memphis Academy of Arts, Southern College of Optometry, and a technical institute. It has a natural history museum, a planetarium, an art gallery, a metalwork museum, a notable park system, botanical gardens, a zoo, an aquarium, a coliseum, a speedway, and Autozone Park, where minor league baseball games attract many to a resurgent downtown area. The National Basketball Association's Grizzlies play in FedExForum. The Mid-South Fairgrounds and the Cook Convention Center, which has sponsored major traveling art exhibits, are there. An annual week-long cotton carnival is held, and postseason college football games are played there each year.

A number of antebellum homes in the city have been restored. Memphis is associated with the development of early rock-and-roll and the blues, and Graceland, the former home of Elvis Presley, is one of the nation's largest tourist attractions. Beale St., another popular site, was made famous by W. C. Handy, the blues composer, and has been extensively restored. The National Civil Rights Museum is in the former Lorraine Motel, where Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. The Great American Pyramid, a 32-story glass-encased civic center, arena, and museum complex dominates the riverfront area. Nearby on a sandbar is Mud Island, a 52-acre amusement park.

City (pop., 2000: 650,100), southwestern Tennessee, U.S. Situated above the Mississippi River where the borders of Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee meet, it was founded in 1819 on the site of a Chickasaw Indian village and a U.S. fort. It was incorporated as a city in 1826. A Confederate military centre at the start of the American Civil War, it was captured by Union forces in 1862. In the 1870s yellow fever killed more than 5,000 residents, and the city was forced into bankruptcy. Rechartered in 1893, it was the state's largest city by 1900. Sites of interest include Beale Street, made famous by W.C. Handy as the birthplace of the blues; and Graceland, the mansion of Elvis Presley. It is the seat of several educational institutions, including the University of Memphis.

Learn more about Memphis with a free trial on Britannica.com.