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Daley, Richard Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Daley, Richard Joseph, 1902–76, U.S. political leader, b. Chicago. Admitted to the bar in 1933, he entered politics and served as a Democrat in the state assembly (1936–38) and the state senate (1...

platypus

(Encyclopedia)platypus plătˈəpəs [key], semiaquatic egg-laying mammal, Ornithorhynchus anatinus, of Tasmania and E Australia. Also called duckbill, or duckbilled platypus, it belongs to the order Monotremata (s...

Young, Brigham

(Encyclopedia)Young, Brigham brĭgˈəm [key], 1801–77, American religious leader, early head of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, b. Whitingham, Vt. Brigham Young was perhaps the greatest molder o...

Caribbean Sea

(Encyclopedia)Caribbean Sea kârˌĭbēˈən, kərĭbˈēən [key], tropical sea, c.970,000 sq mi (2,512,950 sq km), arm of the Atlantic Ocean, Central America. It is bordered on the N and E by the West Indies arch...

Pan-Americanism

(Encyclopedia)Pan-Americanism, movement toward commercial, social, economic, military, and political cooperation among the nations of North, Central, and South America. In the early 20th cent., U.S. manipulation ...

Melbourne, William Lamb, 2d Viscount

(Encyclopedia)Melbourne, William Lamb, 2d Viscount mĕlˈbərn [key], 1779–1848, British statesman. He entered Parliament as a Whig in 1805, was (1827–28) chief secretary for Ireland, and entered (1828) the Hou...

roller

(Encyclopedia)roller, common name for brightly colored Old World birds noted for performing somersaults in flight. They include the rollers proper (subfamily Coraciinae) and ground rollers (subfamily Brachypteracii...

check

(Encyclopedia)check or cheque, bill of exchange (see draft) drawn upon a bank or trust company or broker connected with a clearinghouse (see clearing). Upon presentation of a check, the bank or other drawee pays ca...

Churchill, Lord Randolph Henry Spencer

(Encyclopedia)Churchill, Lord Randolph Henry Spencer, 1849–95, English statesman; son of the 7th duke of Marlborough. A sincere Tory and a founder (1883) of the Primrose League, dedicated to upholding national in...

Gingrich, Newt

(Encyclopedia)Gingrich, Newt (Newton Leroy Gingrich) gĭngˈgrĭch [key], 1943–, U.S. congressman, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives (1995–98), b. Harrisburg, Pa., as Newton Leroy McPherson. A histor...