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According to Catholic Enclyclopedia :

Francisco Pizarro
Born in Trujillo, Estremadura, Spain, probably in 1471; died at Lima, Peru, 26 June, 1541.

He was the illegitimate son of Gonzalo Pizarro and Francisca González, who paid little attention to his education and he grew up without learning how to read or write. His father was a captain of infantry and had fought in the Neopolitan wars with el Gran Capitán Gonzalo de Córdoba. Filled with enthusiasm at the accunts of the exploits of his countrymen in America, Pizarro set sail (10 November, 1509) with Alonzo de Ojeda from Spain, on the latter's expedition to Urabí, where Ojeda founded the city of San Sebastian, and left it in Pizarro's care when he returned to the ship for provisions. Hardships and the climate having thinned the ranks of his companions, Pizarro sailed to the port of Cartagena. There he joined the fleet of Martin Fernández de Encíso, and later attached himself to the expedition of Nuñez de Balboa, whom he accompanied on his journey across the Isthmus of Panama to discover the Pacific Ocean (29 September, 1513). When Balboa was beheaded by his successor, Pedrarias Dávila, Pizarro followed the fortunes of the latter until 1515 when Dávila sent him to trade with the natives along the Pacific coast. When the capital was transferred to Panama he helped Pedrarias to subjugate the warlike tribes of Veraguas, and in 1520 accompanied Espinosa on his expedition into the territory of the Cacique Urraca, situated in the present Republic of Costa Rica.

According to Seize the night:

Spanish explorer and conqueror Francisco Pizarro defeated the Inca Empire and claimed most of South America for Spain. Pizarro also established the city of Lima, Peru, and opened the way for Spanish culture and religion to dominate South America. In doing so, Pizarro conquered the largest amount of territory of any military leader and delivered the most riches to his country with the smallest expenditure of men and resources.

Pizarro was born the illegitimate son of a professional Spanish soldier. According to some accounts, he worked as a swine farmer before joining the military while in his early teens. There is no evidence that he received formal academic or military schooling, most likely remaining illiterate, or that he had much experience as a soldier before sailing for Hispaniola in 1502. Upon arriving in the New World, Pizarro served as a member of the governor's military detachment on the island and in 1513 participated in the Vasco Nunez de Balboa expedition to Panama that discovered the Pacific Ocean.

Pizarro remained in Panama as a colonizer and from 1519 to 1523 served as the mayor and magistrate of Panama City. He accumulated a small fortune during this period, but reports of the vast riches captured by Hernando Cortes in Mexico encouraged Pizarro to seek further wealth. In 1524-25 and again in 1526-28, Pizarro sailed south along the Pacific coast of Colombia following rumor of a huge Indian civilization that possessed incalculable riches.