(Encyclopedia) Caillié, RenéCaillié, Renérənāˈ kāyāˈ [key], 1799–1838, French explorer in Africa. He was the first European to visit Timbuktu and return. The son of poor French peasants, he was…
(Encyclopedia) Billings, Josh, pseud. of Henry Wheeler Shaw, 1818–85, American humorist and lecturer, b. Lanesboro, Mass. After a roving life as farmer, explorer, and coal miner, he settled in…
(Encyclopedia) Vizcaíno, SebastiánVizcaíno, Sebastiánsāvästyänˈ vēthkäēˈnō [key], c.1550–c.1628, Spanish explorer and merchant. After an unsuccessful attempt to plant a colony in Lower California (…
(Encyclopedia) Muir, AlexanderMuir, Alexandermy&oomacr;r [key], 1830–1906, Canadian songwriter, b. Scotland. In 1867 he wrote the words and music for “The Maple Leaf Forever,” which is regarded…
(Encyclopedia) ChignectoChignectoshĭgnĕkˈtō [key], isthmus connecting N.S., Canada, with the Canadian mainland, between Chignecto Bay and Northumberland Strait. It is c.17 mi (27 km) across at its…
(Encyclopedia) Westminster Conference, 1866–67, held in London to settle the plan for confederation of the Canadian provinces. The resolutions on confederation that had been framed at the Quebec…
explorerDied: June 12, 2007 (Scotland) Best Known as: explorer of Arctic and Antarctic Explorer, who was the first man to walk across the frozen Arctic Ocean…
(Encyclopedia) Moore, Brian, 1921–99, Canadian-American novelist, b. Belfast, Northern Ireland. He emigrated to Canada in 1948, where he was a reporter for the Montreal Gazette. He later moved to the…