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geode

(Encyclopedia)geode jēˈōd [key], hollow, globular rock nodule ranging in diameter from 1 to 12 in. (2.54–30.5 cm) or more. Most geodes are partly filled with mineral matter; they have a thin layer of chalcedon...

permafrost

(Encyclopedia)permafrost, permanently frozen soil, subsoil, or other deposit, characteristic of arctic and some subarctic regions; similar conditions are also found at very high altitudes in mountain ranges. In 196...

Daugherty, Harry Micajah

(Encyclopedia)Daugherty, Harry Micajah dôˈərtē [key], 1860–1941, American politician, b. Fayette co., Ohio. He became a successful corporation lawyer in Columbus, Ohio, and served (1890–94) in the state leg...

Chesapeake & Ohio Railway

(Encyclopedia)Chesapeake & Ohio Railway (C&O), former U.S. transportation company with railroad lines in eight states, Washington, D.C., and Ontario, Canada. Founded as the Louisa RR Company in Virginia in ...

Hounsfield, Sir Godfrey Newbold

(Encyclopedia)Hounsfield, Sir Godfrey Newbold, 1919–2004, British electrical engineer. A radar expert for the Royal Air Force during World War II, in the 1950s Hounsfield began developing computer and X-ray techn...

Hammer, Armand

(Encyclopedia)Hammer, Armand, 1898–1990, American business executive, b. New York City. He began in his father's pharmaceutical business and then expanded it into the Soviet Union. He returned (1930) to New York,...

Fries, John

(Encyclopedia)Fries, John, c.1750–1818, American rebel, b. Montgomery co., Pa. After serving in the American Revolution, Fries became a traveling auctioneer. Strongly opposed to the federal property taxes levied ...

Canada Act

(Encyclopedia)Canada Act, also called the Constitutional Act of 1982, which made Canada a fully sovereign state. The British Parliament approved it on Mar. 25, 1982, and Queen Elizabeth II proclaimed it on Apr. 17,...

trust

(Encyclopedia)trust, in law, arrangement whereby property legally owned by one person is administered for the benefit of another. Three parties are ordinarily needed for the relation to arise: the settlor, who bequ...

Homeland Security, United States Department of

(Encyclopedia)Homeland Security, United States Department of (DHS), executive department of the federal government charged with protecting the security of the American homeland as its main responsibility. Its prima...