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electric fish

(Encyclopedia)electric fish, name for various fish that produce electricity by means of organs usually developed from modified muscle tissue. The electric eels of South America are freshwater knifefish unrelated to...

Burton, Sir Richard Francis

(Encyclopedia)Burton, Sir Richard Francis, 1821–90, English explorer, writer, and linguist. He joined (1842) the service of the East India Company and, while stationed in India, acquired a thorough knowledge of t...

Médici, Emílio Garrastazú

(Encyclopedia)Médici, Emílio Garrastazú əmēˈlyo͝o gəräshˈtəzo͞o mĕdˈĭsē [key], 1905–86, president of Brazil (1969–74). An army general, he served as head of the national intelligence service. He...

mestizo

(Encyclopedia)mestizo māstēˈsō [key] [Span.,=mixture], person of mixed race; particularly, in Mexico and Central and South America, a person of European (Spanish or Portuguese) and indigenous descent. The mesti...

Ribeiro, Darcy

(Encyclopedia)Ribeiro, Darcy rēbāˈrü [key], 1922–97, Brazilian anthropologist, statesman, and author. An expert on the indigenous peoples of Brazil, he wrote many books, notably the six-volume 1960s work, Stu...

Dias, Antônio Gonçalves

(Encyclopedia)Dias, Antônio Gonçalves əntôˈnyo͝o go͝onsälˈvəs dēˈəs [key], 1823–64, Brazilian poet and dramatist. A leading writer of the romantic school, he is noted for his strong nativist feeling ...

Xingu

(Encyclopedia)Xingu zĭng-go͞oˈ, Port. shēng-go͞oˈ [key], river, 1,230 mi (1,979 km) long, rising in central Mato Grosso state, Brazil, and winding north across Pará state into the Amazon River at the head of...

Campina Grande

(Encyclopedia)Campina Grande kəmpēˈnä gränˈdĭ [key], city, Paraíba state, NE Brazil, on the...

cat's-eye

(Encyclopedia)cat's-eye, gemstone that displays a thin band of reflected light on its surface when cut as a cabochon. Its name is derived from its supposed resemblance to the eye of a cat. The optical effect, known...

Schenck, Robert Cumming

(Encyclopedia)Schenck, Robert Cumming skĕngk [key], 1809–90, American politician and diplomat, Union general in the Civil War, b. Franklin, Ohio. He studied law and practiced in Dayton. Schenck was a Whig in Con...