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californium

(Encyclopedia)californium kălˈĭfôrˌnēəm [key] [from California], artificially produced, radioactive metallic chemical element; symbol Cf; at. no. 98; mass no. of most stable isotope 251; m.p. about 900℃; b...

Bonington, Richard Parkes

(Encyclopedia)Bonington, Richard Parkes bŏnˈĭngtən [key], 1802–28, English painter. Moving to Calais at the age of 15, his first art study was with Louis Francia, who taught him watercolor and lithography. Bo...

New Waterford

(Encyclopedia)New Waterford, town (1991 pop. 7,695), on NE Cape Breton Island, N.S., Canada, NE of Sydney. A former coal-mining center in a region that saw the last mine close in 2001, New Waterford experienced ste...

Chapman, Maria Weston

(Encyclopedia)Chapman, Maria Weston, 1806–85, American abolitionist, b. Weymouth, Mass. In 1834 she became a close associate of William Lloyd Garrison, helped organize the Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society, and ...

Beaumont, William

(Encyclopedia)Beaumont, William, 1785–1853, American physician, b. Lebanon, Conn. He was privately educated and was licensed (1812) to practice in Vermont. His Experiments and Observations on the Gastric Juice an...

Vergennes, Charles Gravier, comte de

(Encyclopedia)Vergennes, Charles Gravier, comte de shärl grävyāˈ kôNt də vĕrzhĕnˈ [key], 1717–87, French statesman. After serving as ambassador at Trier, Constantinople, and Stockholm (where in 1772 he p...

Dobson, William

(Encyclopedia)Dobson, William, 1610–46, English court painter. After the death of Van Dyck, Dobson was made court painter to Charles I and did some interesting court portraits. Some of his works are close to the ...

Bennington College

(Encyclopedia)Bennington College, at Bennington, Vt.; coeducational (originally for women); chartered 1925, opened 1932. Its curriculum is based on individual interests and needs. All students are required to devot...

foie gras

(Encyclopedia)foie gras fwä grä [key] [Fr.,=fat liver], livers of artificially fattened geese. Ducks and chickens are also sometimes used in the making of foie gras. The birds, kept in close coops to prevent exer...

Marlborough, Sarah Churchill, duchess of

(Encyclopedia)Marlborough, Sarah Churchill, duchess of, 1660–1744, confidante of Queen Anne of England. Born Sarah Jennings, she was a childhood friend of Princess Anne. In 1677 she married John Churchill, later ...