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Ribera, Jusepe

(Encyclopedia)Ribera, Jusepe, José, or Giuseppe ho͞osāˈpā rēbāˈrä, hōsāˈ, jo͞ozĕpˈpā [key], c.1590–1652, Spanish baroque painter. He studied in Valencia and Rome but at an early age settled in Nap...

alabaster

(Encyclopedia)alabaster, fine-grained, massive, translucent variety of gypsum, a hydrous calcium sulfate. It is pure white or streaked with reddish brown. Alabaster, like all other forms of gypsum, forms by the eva...

gaur, in zoology

(Encyclopedia)gaur, large wild ox of Southeast Asia, having a humplike ridge on the back. The gaur, Bos gaurus, is thought to be the largest of the wild cattle; the bulls may measure more than 6 ft (1.8 m) at the s...

tree frog

(Encyclopedia)tree frog, name for any of the small tree- or shrub-inhabiting frogs of the family Hylidae, characterized by an adhesive disk on the tip of each of the clawlike toes. This family has about 300 species...

Bell, Derrick Albert, Jr.

(Encyclopedia)Bell, Derrick Albert, Jr., 1930–2011, American lawyer, legal scholar, and educator, b. Pittsburgh, Pa., grad. Duquesne Univ. (A.B., 1952), Univ. of Pittsburgh Law School (LL.B., 1957). Known for his...

racer

(Encyclopedia)racer, name for several related swift, slender snakes, especially those of the genus Coluber. All of the racers are nonpoisonous, nonconstricting, day-active snakes. The black racer, C. constrictor, i...

American Civil Liberties Union

(Encyclopedia)American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), nonpartisan organization devoted to the preservation and extension of the basic rights set forth in the U.S. Constitution. Founded (1920) by such prominent figur...

frogmouth

(Encyclopedia)frogmouth, common name for small, owllike birds of the family Podargidae, ranging in size from 9 to 21 in. (22.5–52.5 cm). Their soft plumage is a mottled gray-brown in color with little distinction...

hippopotamus

(Encyclopedia)hippopotamus, herbivorous, river-living mammal of tropical Africa. The large hippopotamus, Hippopotamus amphibius, has a short-legged, broad body with a tough gray or brown hide. The male stands about...

Holbrooke, Richard Charles

(Encyclopedia)Holbrooke, Richard Charles hōlˈbro͝ok [key], 1941–2010, American diplomat, b. New York City, grad. Brown (B.A., 1962). Holbrooke joined the foreign service, worked on Vietnamese affairs for six y...