BISMARCK

capital of North Dakota, U.S., and the seat (1873) of Burleigh county. The city is in the south-central part of the state, on the east bank of the Missouri River. It originated in the 1830s as a port called the Crossing on the Missouri, and in 1872 Camp Greeley (later Camp Hancock), a military post, was established there to protect crews working on the Northern Pacific Railway. In 1873 the community was named in honour of the German chancellor Otto von Bismarck, in the hope of attracting German investment in the railway. With the discovery of gold in the Black Hills (to the southwest), Bismarck became an outfitting centre for prospectors. In 1883 the capital of Dakota Territory was moved from Yankton (now in South Dakota) to Bismarck; when the territory was divided and the two states admitted to the Union in 1889, Bismarck became the capital of the northern state. It has grown steadily and has become the region's business, cultural, and financial centre. In the heart of spring-wheat country, it is a wholesale distributing point, mainly for grain and livestock. The state capitol (1932) is a 19-story skyscraper, and the governor's mansion and state museum are in its grounds. Bismarck State College was founded in 1939 and the University of Mary was founded in 1955. Across the river are the city of Mandan and Fort Lincoln State Park. Inc. city, 1875. Pop. (1990) city, 49,272; Bismarck MSA, 83,831; (1994 est.) city, 52,592; (1995 est.) Bismarck MSA, 89,440. German battleship of World War II that had a short but spectacular career. The Bismarck was laid down in 1936 and launched in 1939. It displaced 52,600 tons, mounted eight 15-inch (38-centimetre) guns, and had a speed of 30 knots. Its sighting off Bergen, Nor., in May 1941 by a British reconnaissance aircraft sent practically the entire British Home Fleet into action to intercept it. Two cruisers made contact off the coast of Iceland, and the battleship Prince of Wales and battle cruiser Hood soon engaged it. After destroying the Hood with a shell that exploded in the magazine, the Bismarck escaped into the open sea. Sighted by aircraft 30 hours later (May 26), it was hit by a torpedo that crippled its steering gear, and the ship was bombarded throughout the night by battleships. On the morning of May 27 the King George V and the Rodney, in an hour-long attack, incapacitated the Bismarck, and an hour and a half later it was sunk by three torpedoes from the cruiser Dorsetshire.