(Encyclopedia) Lawrence, James, 1781–1813, American naval hero, b. Burlington, N.J. He entered the navy in 1798 and saw his first important service in the Tripolitan War. In the War of 1812, as…
(Encyclopedia) Kook, Abraham IsaacKook, Abraham Isaack&oomacr;k [key], 1864–1935, Jewish scholar and philosopher, b. Latvia. He settled (1904) in Palestine, where he became the chief rabbi of the…
(Encyclopedia) Barentz or Barents, WillemBarentz or Barents, Willemboth: vĭˈləm bäˈrənts [key], d. 1597, Dutch navigator. He made three voyages (1594, 1595, 1596–97) in search of the Northeast…
(Encyclopedia) Tewodros II or Theodore II, 1818–68, emperor of Ethiopia (1855–68), originally named Kasa or Lij Kasa. He was a commoner and a bold and clever warrior. He seized control of his native…
(Encyclopedia) torsion balance, instrument used to measure small forces. It is based on the principle that a wire or thread resists twisting with a force that is proportional to the stress. The…
(Encyclopedia) Rockville, city (1990 pop. 44,835), seat of Montgomery co., W central Md., a NW suburb of Washington, D.C.; settled c.1760s, inc. as a city 1860. It has several scientific research and…
(Encyclopedia) Shapley, HarlowShapley, Harlowshăpˈlē [key], 1885–1972, American astronomer, b. Nashville, Mo., grad. Univ. of Missouri, 1910, Ph.D. Princeton, 1913. He was astronomer at Mt. Wilson…
(Encyclopedia) Barth, HeinrichBarth, Heinrichhīnˈrĭkh bärt [key], 1821–65, German explorer in British service. After traveling (1845–47) through the Levant and N Africa, he entered the service of the…
(Encyclopedia) ContrerasContreraskōntrāˈräs [key], village, central Mexico, near Mexico City, site of an important battle (Aug. 19–20, 1847) of the Mexican War. Gen. Winfield Scott, continuing his…
(Encyclopedia) Fischer, Ernst Otto, 1918–2007, German chemist, Ph.D. Technical Univ. of Munich (TUM), 1952. Fischer was a professor at TUM (1954–57) and the Univ. of Munich (1957–64). He returned to…
