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Alfonso I, king of Portugal

(Encyclopedia)Alfonso I, 1109?–1185, first king of Portugal, son of Henry of Burgundy. After his father's death (1112), his mother, Countess Teresa, ruled the county of Portugal with the help of her Spanish lover...

Mujica Cordano, José Alberto

(Encyclopedia)Mujica Cordano, José Alberto 1935–, Uruguayan political leader. Popularly known as “Pepe,” he had minimal formal education. During the 1960s, Mujica, a farmer and a socialist, was one of the fo...

llanos

(Encyclopedia)llanos yäˈnōs [key], Spanish-American term for prairies, specifically those of the Orinoco River basin of N South America, in Venezuela and E Colombia. The llanos of the Orinoco are a vast, hot reg...

Bolsonaro, Jair Messias

(Encyclopedia)Bolsonaro, Jair Messias, 1955–, Brazilian political leader. Bolsonaro served in the army from 1973 to 1988, mostly during a period of military dictatorship; he rose to the rank of captain. Running a...

Dundee, John Graham of Claverhouse, 1st Viscount

(Encyclopedia)Dundee, John Graham of Claverhouse, 1st Viscount klăvˈərəs, dŭndēˈ [key], 1649?–1689, Scottish soldier, known as Bonnie Dundee. After service abroad under William of Orange (later William III...

Duncan, Isadora

(Encyclopedia)Duncan, Isadora ĭzˌədôrˈə dŭngˈkən [key], 1878–1927, American dancer, b. San Francisco. She had little success in the United States when she first created dances based on Greek classical ar...

Churriguera, José Benito

(Encyclopedia)Churriguera, José Benito chûrˌēgərĕskˈ [key] describes the architecture of the late 17th and early 18th cent. in Spain, marked by extravagance of design and capricious use of Renaissance motive...

velvet

(Encyclopedia)velvet, fabric having a soft, thick, short pile, usually of silk, and a plain twill or satin weave ground. The pile surface is formed by weaving an extra set of warp threads that are looped over wires...

guitar

(Encyclopedia)guitar, musical instrument related to the lute, modern guitars normally having six strings that are plucked with the fingers or strummed with a pick. Earlier versions had pairs of strings like the lut...

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...

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