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Pire, Georges Henri

(Encyclopedia)Pire, Georges Henri zhôrzh äNrēˈ pēr [key], 1910–69, Belgian priest. He entered a Dominican monastery at the age of 18 and was ordained in 1934. He taught moral philosophy and sociology and dur...

Blessington, Marguerite, countess of

(Encyclopedia)Blessington, Marguerite, countess of, 1789–1849, English author and famous beauty, b. Ireland. At the age of 14 she was forced by her father into marriage with Capt. Maurice St. Leger Farmer, a sadi...

extinction

(Encyclopedia)extinction, in biology, disappearance of species of living organisms. Extinction usually occurs as a result of changed conditions to which the species is not suited. If no member of the affected speci...

franchise

(Encyclopedia)franchise, in government, a right specifically conferred on a group or individual by a government, especially the privilege conferred by a municipality on a corporation of operating public utilities, ...

domestic service

(Encyclopedia)domestic service, work performed in a household by someone who is not a member of the family. It was performed by slaves in many early civilizations, e.g., in Greece and Rome. Under the feudal system ...

stratigraphy

(Encyclopedia)stratigraphy, branch of geology specifically concerned with the arrangement of layered rocks (see stratification). Stratigraphy is based on the law of superposition, which states that in a normal sequ...

Nelson, Byron

(Encyclopedia)Nelson, Byron (John Byron Nelson, Jr.), 1912–2006, American golfer, b. Fort Worth, Tex. In 1926 he began playing golf as a caddie, and in 1932 he entered upon his professional career. Noted for the ...

Newsom, Gavin Christopher

(Encyclopedia)Newsom, Gavin Christopher, 1967– American businessman and politician, b. San Francisco. He was a cofounder (1991) of the PlumpJack Group, whose businesses grew from a wine store to include wineries,...

Manning, Daniel

(Encyclopedia)Manning, Daniel, 1831–87, American journalist and political leader, b. Albany, N.Y. At the age of 11 he went to work for the Albany Atlas, which in 1856 was consolidated with the Argus; he became ed...

Saigyo

(Encyclopedia)Saigyo säīˈgyō [key], 1118–90, Japanese poet-priest of the late Heian, early medieval period. Born into a warrior clan, Saigyo studied with the most renowned poets of his day, producing relative...