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ermine

(Encyclopedia)ermine, name for a number of northern species of weasel having white coats in winter, and highly prized for their white fur. It most commonly refers to the white phase of Mustela erminea, called short...

Pollock, Oliver

(Encyclopedia)Pollock, Oliver, 1737–1823, American merchant, b. Ireland. He arrived in America at the age of 23 and became a successful merchant. After moving to New Orleans, Pollock speculated advantageously in ...

Palmas, Las

(Encyclopedia)Palmas, Las läs pälˈmäs [key], city (1990 pop. 373,846), capital of Las Palmas prov., Spain, on Grand Canary. The harbor nearby, at Puerto de la Luz, is the chief port of the Canary Islands and th...

Fliedner, Theodor

(Encyclopedia)Fliedner, Theodor tāˈōdôr flētˈnər [key], 1800–1864, German Protestant minister and philanthropist. In 1826 he organized the first prison society of Germany. Ten years later at Kaiserswerth h...

American Philosophical Society

(Encyclopedia)American Philosophical Society, first scientific society in America, founded (1743) in Philadelphia. It was an outgrowth of the Junto formed (1727) by Benjamin Franklin. Franklin was the first secreta...

Foster, Hannah Webster

(Encyclopedia)Foster, Hannah Webster, 1759–1840, American novelist, b. Boston. She was one of the earliest American novelists and her epistolary novel, The Coquette (1797), was one of the first of its kind in Ame...

Huitzilopochtli

(Encyclopedia)Huitzilopochtli wēˌtsēlōpōchtˈlē [key], chief deity of the Aztec, god of war. He is said to have guided the Aztecs during their migration from Aztlán. Usually represented in sculptured images ...

Apianus, Petrus

(Encyclopedia)Apianus, Petrus pāˈtər bēˈnəvĭts, bĕnˈəvĭts [key], 1495–1552, German cosmographer and mathematician. He was professor of mathematics at Ingolstadt and was noted for his knowledge of astro...

Douglas, David

(Encyclopedia)Douglas, David, 1798–1834, Scottish botanist. He made several journeys in North America between 1823 and 1834 to study American plants and sent to Scotland more than 200 plants and seeds then unknow...

Hays, Will H.

(Encyclopedia)Hays, Will H., 1879–1954, American politician and motion-picture executive, b. Sullivan, Ind.; his original name was William Harrison Hays. Hays became active in Indiana political affairs, was chair...