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astronaut

(Encyclopedia)astronaut, crew member on a U.S. manned spaceflight mission; the Soviet term is cosmonaut. Candidates for manned spaceflight are carefully screened to meet the highest physical and mental standards, a...

berkelium

(Encyclopedia)berkelium bûrˈklēəm [key] [from Berkeley], artificially produced radioactive chemical element; symbol Bk; at. no. 97; mass no. of most stable isotope 247; m.p. about 1,050℃; b.p. about 2,590℃;...

funny bone

(Encyclopedia)funny bone, highly sensitive area at the back of the elbow where the ulnar nerve passes close to the surface of the skin in a groove between end prominences of the humerus (the upper arm bone) and the...

Széll, Kálmán

(Encyclopedia)Széll, Kálmán kälˈmän sāl [key], 1845–1915, Hungarian premier (1899–1903). A close associate of Deak, he was a deputy from 1867, minister of finance (1875–78), and later premier. ...

Bourguiba, Habib

(Encyclopedia)Bourguiba, Habib häˈbēb bo͝orgēˈbə [key], 1903–2000, Tunisian statesman, president of Tunisia (1957–87), b. Monastir. Early active in the Destour party, he was at first an advocate of close...

Heller, Stephen

(Encyclopedia)Heller, Stephen shtĕfˈən [key], 1814–88, French pianist and composer, b. Budapest. Heller toured as a piano virtuoso, ruining his health before settling in Paris in 1838. There he developed close...

Miamisburg

(Encyclopedia)Miamisburg mīămˈēzbûrgˌ [key], city (1990 pop. 17,834), Montgomery co., SW Ohio, on the Miami River; laid out 1818, inc. 1932. It is a tobacco market with diverse agriculture, and metal and pape...

Voznesensky, Andrei Andreyevich

(Encyclopedia)Voznesensky, Andrei Andreyevich əndrāˈ əndrāˈəvĭch vəznyəsyānˈskē [key], 1933–2010, Russian poet, b. Moscow. Voznesensky studied at the Moscow Architectural Institute and later became a...

bee fly

(Encyclopedia)bee fly, name for the small- to medium-sized flies of the family Bombyliidae, many of which resemble bees in appearance and behavior. This mimicry provides bee flies with some measure of protection ag...

seaborgium

(Encyclopedia)seaborgium sēbôrˈgēəm [key], artificially produced radioactive chemical element; symbol Sg; at. no. 106; mass number of most stable isotope 271; m.p., b.p., sp. gr., and valence unknown. Situated...