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Rodney, George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron

(Encyclopedia)Rodney, George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron, 1719–92, British admiral. He served with distinction in the Seven Years War (1757–63), his most notable achievement being the capture (1762) of Martinique...

Shklovsky, Iosif Samuilovich

(Encyclopedia)Shklovsky, Iosif Samuilovich yôsˈĭf səmo͞oēlˈəvĭch shklŏfˈskē [key], 1916–85, Soviet astronomer. He was head of the department of radio-astronomy at the Sternberg Astronomical Institute,...

Smith, Zadie

(Encyclopedia)Smith, Zadie, 1975–, British writer. The biracial daughter of an English father and Jamaican mother, Smith burst on the literary scene in 2000 with her first novel, White Teeth, the award-winning be...

Shotwell, James Thomson

(Encyclopedia)Shotwell, James Thomson, 1874–1965, Canadian-American historian, b. Strathroy, Ont. A teacher of history at Columbia from 1900 and professor from 1908 to 1942, Shotwell also worked tirelessly to pro...

Penrose, Sir Roger

(Encyclopedia)Penrose, Sir Roger, 1931–, British mathematical physicist, Ph.D. Cambridge, 1958. He taught and conducted research at a number of British and American colleges and universities before becoming a pro...

Pontiac, Ottawa chief

(Encyclopedia)Pontiac, fl. 1760–66, Ottawa chief. He may have been the chief met by Robert Rogers in 1760 when Rogers was on his way to take possession of the Western forts for the English. Although the Native Am...

rudder

(Encyclopedia)rudder, mechanism for steering an airplane or a ship. In ships it is a flat-surfaced structure hinged to the stern and controlled by a helm. When the ship is on a straight course, the rudder is in lin...

pass

(Encyclopedia)pass, opening or way by which a natural or artificial barrier can be crossed. The term pass is usually applied to a relatively narrow passage through a mountainous region. A pass, like an isthmus, may...

St. Leger, Barry

(Encyclopedia)St. Leger, Barry, 1737–89, British officer in the American Revolution. In the French and Indian Wars he served at Louisburg (1758) and with Gen. James Wolfe at Quebec. He was given (1777) command of...

Bedouin

(Encyclopedia)Bedouin bĕdˈo͞oĭn [key] [Arab.,=desert dwellers], primarily nomad Arab peoples of the Middle East, where they form about 10% of the population. They are of the same Semitic stock as their sedentar...