History of Cincinnati

Cincinnati was founded in late December 1788 by Mathias Denman, Colonel Robert Patterson and Israel Ludlow. The original surveyor, John Filson, named it "Losantiville" from four terms, each of different language, before his death in October 1788. It means "The city opposite the mouth of the (Licking) River", "ville" is French for "city", "anti" is Greek for "opposite", "os" is Latin for "mouth", and "L" was all that was included of "Licking River".