Calamity Jane

Calamity Jane
(Martha Jane Canary Burke)
1852?-1903, U.S. frontier markswoman.

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orig. Martha Jane Cannary

born May 1, 1852?, near Princeton, Mo.?, U.S.
died Aug. 1, 1903, Terry, near Deadwood, S.D.

U.S. frontierswoman.

She grew up in Montana and worked in mining camps, where she acquired riding and shooting skills. In 1876 she settled in Deadwood, S.D., site of new gold strikes; her pursuits there included hauling goods and machinery to the outlying camps and working as a cook and a dance-hall girl. There she probably first met Wild Bill Hickok, who would become her companion. In 1891 she married Charley Burke, and from 1895 she toured with Wild West shows in the Midwest. Facts about her life were embellished by contemporary feature-magazine writers.

Calamity Jane

The Bettmann Archive

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▪ American frontierswoman
byname of  Martha Jane Burke , née  Martha Jane Cannary 
born May 1, 1852?, near Princeton, Mo.?, U.S.
died Aug. 1, 1903, Terry, near Deadwood, S.D.
 legendary American frontierswoman whose name was often linked with that of Wild Bill Hickok (Hickok, Wild Bill). The facts of her life are confused by her own inventions and by the successive stories and legends that accumulated in later years.

      She allegedly moved westward on a wagon train when still quite young—her mother dying en route and her father dying in Salt Lake City, Utah, leaving her on her own at an early age. During the following several years she wandered about the West, working as cook, dance-hall girl, camp follower, and bawd and doing whatever necessary to earn a living. In the spring of 1876 she ended up in Deadwood, South Dakota, site of new gold strikes, and became a bullwhacker, hauling goods and machinery to the outlying camps. It was probably there that she first met Hickok and knew him only briefly (he was shot dead in a saloon soon after). Other, disputed stories put their meeting years earlier and even vouch a marriage (September 1, 1870) and a child (Jean Hickok McCormick, born September 25, 1873, and allegedly given up for adoption). By the late 1870s Calamity Jane had captured the imagination of several magazine-feature writers who covered the colourful early days of Deadwood.

      In 1891 she married Clinton (Charley) Burke, a hack driver, after living with him for seven years. Beginning in 1895 she toured with Wild West shows (Wild West show) throughout the Midwest. In 1901 she appeared at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York, but was fired for her erratic behaviour and alcoholism. She returned to Deadwood and poverty. She was buried there beside Hickok.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Calamity Jane — in einer Aufnahme von 1895 Martha Jane Cannary Burke (* 1. Mai 1852 in Princeton, Missouri; † 1. August 1903 in Terry bei Deadwood, South Dakota), genannt Calamity Jane (dt. Katastrophen Jane), war eine US amerikanische Wild West Heldin …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Calamity Jane — (name for Martha Jane Burk or Burke or Martha Jane Canary) 1852 1903; U.S. frontier figure …   English World dictionary

  • Calamity Jane — For other uses, see Calamity Jane (disambiguation). Calamity Jane Calamity Jane in 1895 by H.R. Locke Born Martha Jane Cannary May 1, 1852(1852 05 01) Princeton …   Wikipedia

  • Calamity Jane — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Calamity Jane (homonymie). Calamity Jane posant pour sa publicité en 1895 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Calamity Jane — a la edad de 33 años. Foto de H. R. Locke. Martha Jane Canary Burke, más conocida como Calamity Jane (1 de mayo de 1852 …   Wikipedia Español

  • CALAMITY JANE —    One of the most colorful traditional female characters in Westerns, Calamity Jane was, historically, Martha (Calamity) Jane Canary (1848–1903), author of a famous autobiography and entertainer in Wild West shows near the end of her life. How… …   Westerns in Cinema

  • Calamity Jane —    A Calamity Jane is a woman who constantly complains of her troubles or one who brings trouble with her. Martha Jane Canary (1852 1903) was born in Princeton, New Jersey. Her parents moved to Virginia, where they separated and left their… …   Dictionary of eponyms

  • Calamity Jane — noun United States frontierswoman and legendary figure of the Wild West noted for her marksmanship (1852 1903) • Syn: ↑Burk, ↑Martha Jane Burk, ↑Burke, ↑Martha Jane Burke • Instance Hypernyms: ↑frontierswoman * * * Calamity Jane [ …   Useful english dictionary

  • Calamity Jane — orig. Martha Jane Cannary (1 may. ¿1852?, ¿cerca de Princeton, Mo.?, EE.UU.–1 ago. 1903, Terry, cerca de Deadwood, S.D.). Colonizadora estadounidense. Se crió en Montana y trabajó en campamentos mineros, donde adquirió pericia para cabalgar y… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Calamity Jane (Lucky Luke) — Calamity Jane ist ein Comic Band aus der Lucky Luke Reihe, der von Morris gezeichnet und von René Goscinny getextet wurde. Nach der Zählung des Ehapa Verlages (beziehungsweise zu Beginn: des Delta Verlages aus Ehapa und Dargaud) ist dieser Band… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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