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circuit rider

(Encyclopedia)circuit rider, itinerant preacher of the Methodist denomination who served a “circuit” consisting usually of 20 to 40 “appointments.” The circuit system, devised by John Wesley for his English...

Hickok, Wild Bill

(Encyclopedia)Hickok, Wild Bill, 1837–76, American frontier marshal, b. Troy Grove, near Ottawa, Ill., as James Butler Hickok. He took part in the Kansas struggle preceding the Civil War, was a driver of the Butt...

Calamity Jane

(Encyclopedia)Calamity Jane kəlămˈĭtē jānˈ [key], c.1852–1903, American frontier character, b. Princeton, Mo. Her real name was Martha Jane Canary, and the origin of her nickname is obscure. Little is know...

Main

(Encyclopedia)Main mīn [key], river, c.310 mi (500 km) long, formed near Kulmbach, E central Germany, by the confluence of the Roter Main and the Weisser Main, both of which rise in the Fichtelgebirge. It then win...

Rizal

(Encyclopedia)Rizal, province, central Luzon, the Philippines. The capital is Pasig. The province, which horseshoes around Manila and includes Quezon City and Pasay, has had a huge population increase since the 197...

Irish Sea

(Encyclopedia)Irish Sea, arm of the Atlantic Ocean, c.40,000 sq mi (103,600 sq km), 130 mi (209 km) long and up to c.140 mi (230 km) wide, lying between Ireland and Great Britain. It is connected with the Atlantic ...

Nieuwpoort

(Encyclopedia)Nieuwpoort or Nieuport both: nēˈo͝opôrt [key], town (1991 pop. 9,572), West Flanders prov., W Belgium, on the North Sea at the mouth of the Yser River. It is a fishing port, an industrial center, ...

Viscount Melville Sound

(Encyclopedia)Viscount Melville Sound, 250 mi (402 km) long and 100 mi (161 km) wide, arm of the Arctic Ocean, Northwest Territories and Nunavut, Canada, between Victoria and Prince of Wales islands on the south an...

Billingsgate

(Encyclopedia)Billingsgate bĭlˈĭngzgĭt, –gāt [key], wharf and fish market, London, England, on the north bank of the Thames River. The market was named after a river gate in the old city wall. The word Billi...

Brooks Range

(Encyclopedia)Brooks Range, mountain chain, northernmost part of the Rocky Mts., extending about 600 mi (970 km) from east to west across N Alaska. Mt. Chamberlin, 9,020 ft (2,749 m) high, near the Canadian border,...