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Admiralty

(Encyclopedia)Admiralty, in British government, department in charge of the operations of the Royal Navy until 1964. Originally established under Henry VIII, it was reorganized under Charles II. Five lords commissi...

International Bank for Reconstruction and Development

(Encyclopedia)International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) (IBRD), independent specialized agency of the United Nations, with headquarters at Washington, D.C.; one of five closely associated develop...

Mongolia, region, Asia

(Encyclopedia)Mongolia mŏn-gōˈlēə, mŏng– [key], Asian region (c.906,000 sq mi/2,346,540 sq km), bordered roughly by Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China, on the west; the Manchurian provinces of China on...

wood carving

(Encyclopedia)wood carving, as an art form, includes any kind of sculpture in wood, from the decorative bas-relief on small objects to life-size figures in the round, furniture, and architectural decorations. The w...

canoe

(Encyclopedia)canoe kəno͞oˈ [key], long, narrow watercraft with sharp ends originally used by most peoples. It is usually propelled by means of paddles, although sails and, more recently, outboard motors are als...

Lipton, Sir Thomas Johnstone

(Encyclopedia)Lipton, Sir Thomas Johnstone, 1850–1931, Scottish merchant and yachting enthusiast. After spending several years in the United States he returned (1869) to his native Glasgow and opened a small groc...

Kwan, Michelle Wingshan

(Encyclopedia)Kwan, Michelle Wingshan, 1980–, American figure skater, b. Torrance, Calif., In 1994 she won the silver medal at the U.S. National Championships and the gold medal in the World Junior Championships....

Mikan, George Lawrence

(Encyclopedia)Mikan, George Lawrence mĭkˈən [key], 1924–2005, American basketball player, b. Joliet, Ill. After leading De Paul Univ. to the 1945 National Invitational Tournament title and being named All-Amer...

Merle d'Aubigné, Jean Henri

(Encyclopedia)Merle d'Aubigné, Jean Henri zhäN äNrēˈ mĕrl dōbēnyāˈ [key], 1794–1872, Swiss ecclesiastical historian and Protestant preacher. After studying theology at Geneva and in Berlin, he was pasto...

Merseyside

(Encyclopedia)Merseyside, former metropolitan county, NW England. Created in the 1974 local government reorganization, the county embraced the Greater Liverpool metropolitan area and comprised five metropolitan dis...