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John of Gaunt

(Encyclopedia)John of Gaunt [Mid. Eng. Gaunt=Ghent, his birthplace], 1340–99, duke of Lancaster; fourth son of Edward III of England. He married (1359) Blanche, heiress of Lancaster, and through her became earl (...

Ku Klux Klan

(Encyclopedia)Ku Klux Klan ko͞oˌ klŭks klăn [key], designation mainly given to two distinct secret societies that played a part in American history, although other less important groups have also used the name....

Bahr el Jebel

(Encyclopedia)Bahr el Jebel bäˈhər ĕl jĕbˈĕl [key], river, 594 mi (956 km) long, section of the White Nile, central South Sudan, Africa. The name is usually used for the White Nile between Nimule, where it e...

pyroxene

(Encyclopedia)pyroxene pīˈrŏksēn [key], name given to members of a group of widely distributed rock minerals called metasilicates in which magnesium, iron, and calcium, often with aluminum, sodium, lithium, man...

Spotted swine

(Encyclopedia)Spotted swine, breed that is predominantly black with many white spots. Except for its additional white coloring, it is much like the Poland China swine, which together with Gloucester Old Spot hogs f...

Montrose

(Encyclopedia)Montrose, town (1991 pop. 12,127), Angus, NE Scotland, on the North Sea at the mouth of the South Esk River. Open to water on three sides, it is a spacious resort town, with flax and jute mills, boat ...

Northumberland Strait

(Encyclopedia)Northumberland Strait, arm of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, c.200 mi (320 km) long and from 8 to 30 mi (13–48 km) wide, separating Prince Edward Island from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The strait is ...

Orrefors

(Encyclopedia)Orrefors ôrəfôrsˈ, –fôshˈ [key], town, Kronoberg co., SE Sweden. It is noted for the manufacture of fine crystal and glassware. Simon Gate and Edward Hald, who made Orrefors famous, were outst...

King, Charles Bird

(Encyclopedia)King, Charles Bird, 1785–1862, American portrait painter, b. Newport, R.I. He studied under Edward Savage and with Benjamin West in London. His work, executed in Washington, D.C., included Native Am...

Caernarvon

(Encyclopedia)Caernarvon kərnärˈvən, kär– [key], Welsh Caernarfon, town, Gwynedd, NW Wales, on Menai...