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morocco, type of leather

(Encyclopedia)morocco, goatskin leather, dyed on the grain side and boarded by hand or machine to bring up the grain in a bird's-eye effect. It probably originated with the Arabs in North Africa as an alum-tanned p...

Maes, Nicolaes

(Encyclopedia)Maes or Maas, Nicolaes both: nēˈkōläs mäs [key], 1632–93, Dutch genre and portrait painter. His earlier genre pictures bear, in their manner and coloring, a certain resemblance to those of his ...

false imprisonment

(Encyclopedia)false imprisonment, complete restraint upon a person's liberty of movement without legal justification. Actual physical contact is not necessary; a show of authority or a threat of force is sufficient...

Ammon, in the Bible

(Encyclopedia)Ammon ămˈən [key], in the Bible, people living E of the Dead Sea. Their capital was Rabbath-Ammon, the present-day Amman (Jordan). Their god was Milcom, to whom Solomon built an altar. A Semitic pe...

Plimsoll, Samuel

(Encyclopedia)Plimsoll, Samuel plĭmˈsəl [key], 1824–98, English reformer. Plimsoll was particularly interested in the welfare of sailors. As a member of Parliament (1868–80) he secured legislation limiting t...

Watanabe, Junya

(Encyclopedia)Watanabe, Junya, 1961–, Japanese fashion designer, b. Fukushima. He apprenticed at Rei Kawakubo's Comme des Garçons (1984), where he became a knitwear and menswear designer. Watanabe introduced his...

Bennett, Michael

(Encyclopedia)Bennett, Michael, 1943–87, American dancer and choreographer, b. Buffalo, N.Y. He appeared in West Side Story and Subways Are for Sleeping. During the 1970s, he was one of the most successful direct...

equestrianism

(Encyclopedia)equestrianism, art of riding and handling a horse. Horseback riding was practiced as far back as the Bronze Age and was thereafter adapted to commerce, industry, war, sport, and recreation. Diverse st...

Newcastle disease

(Encyclopedia)Newcastle disease, pneumoencephalitis, acute viral disease of domestic poultry. Newcastle disease is characterized by sneezing, coughing, and nervous behavior. Affected birds may show tremors, circlin...

Oakley, Annie

(Encyclopedia)Oakley, Annie, 1860–1926, American theatrical performer, b. Darke co., Ohio. Her original name was Phoebe Anne Oakley Mozee. From childhood on she was a “dead shot” with a rifle. She defeated in...