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Situated on the banks of the Mississippi River in the southwestern part of Tennessee, Memphis is the state's second biggest city and, like Nashville, is well-known for its musical culture and history. Memphis covers an area of 324 square miles and has an estimated population of 652,000 people, with over 1.3 million in the surrounding metropolitan area. Memphis is located in Shelby County and was named after the ancient Egyptian city of Memphis.
Founded in 1819, Memphis quickly developed into an important industrial and transportation hub for Tennessee and is known for housing the headquarters of FedEx, one of the biggest courier delivery companies on Earth. The city is also known for playing a key role in the Civil Rights Movement, tragically being the location where Martin Luther King was assassinated in 1968.
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