I
City (pop., 2000: 55,532), capital of North Dakota, U.S. It was settled as a Missouri River port in the 1830s.
In 1872 a military post was established to protect railway workers, and in 1873 it was named for Black Hills , it became a prospecting centre. In 1883 it was made the capital of Dakota Territory; when the territory was divided into two states in 1889, Bismarck became the capital of the northern state. Today it is the region's business, cultural, and financial centre.
II
German battleship of World War II. The formidable 52,600-ton (47,700-metric-ton) vessel was launched in 1939.
British reconnaissance aircraft sighted it off Bergen, Norway, in May 1941, and almost the entire British home fleet was sent to intercept it. Two cruisers engaged it near Iceland, and the Bismarck destroyed the Hood before escaping to the open sea. Sighted 30 hours later, it was torpedoed and then bombarded by battleships throughout the night. The King George V and the Rodney crippled it in an hour-long attack, and it was finally sunk by torpedoes from the cruiser Dorsetshire .