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Shanksville

(Encyclopedia)Shanksville, borough (1990 pop. 235), Somerset co., SW Pa., on the Stonycreek River, which is spanned by an 1881 covered bridge. It is situated in an agricultural area where corn, oats, and livestock ...

Albéniz, Isaac

(Encyclopedia)Albéniz, Isaac ēsäkˈ älbāˈnēth [key], 1860–1909, Spanish pianist and composer. He made his debut as a pianist at the age of four. When still young, he ran away from home and traveled in Nort...

Cynewulf

(Encyclopedia)Cynewulf kĭnˈəwo͝olfˌ, ko͝onˈ– [key], fl. early 9th cent.?, Old English religious poet of Northumbria or Mercia. Four poems have been ascribed to him on the evidence of his signatures in rune...

Delambre, Jean Baptiste Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Delambre, Jean Baptiste Joseph zhäN bätēstˈ zhôzĕfˈ dəläNˈbrə [key], 1749–1822, French astronomer and mathematician. He was a member of the bureau of longitudes from 1795 and professor at...

Fifth Monarchy Men

(Encyclopedia)Fifth Monarchy Men, religious group active during the time of the Commonwealth and Protectorate in England. They were millenarians expecting the imminent coming of Jesus to rule the earth. His monarch...

Tromp, Cornelis

(Encyclopedia)Tromp, Cornelis kôrnāˈlĭs trômp [key], 1629–91, Dutch admiral in the second and third of the Dutch Wars; son of Maarten Tromp. In 1665 he was made commander of the Dutch fleet, but he was repla...

Przhevalsky, Nikolai Mikhailovich

(Encyclopedia)Przhevalsky, Nikolai Mikhailovich nyĭkəlīˈ mēkhīˈləvĭch pərzhĭvälˈskē [key], 1839–88, Russian geographer and explorer in central and E Asia. He made five major expeditions—one to the...

oyster catcher

(Encyclopedia)oyster catcher, common name for members of the family Haematopodidae, ploverlike shorebirds, cosmopolitan in distribution. Their distinctive red bills are long, blunt, and flattened, efficient for cat...

fluid

(Encyclopedia)fluid, any substance that is able to flow. Of the four states of matter, only a solid is not a fluid, since it has a definite shape that is not readily changed. Any liquid, gas, or plasma is classed a...

Froome, Chris

(Encyclopedia)Froome, Chris (Christopher Clive Froome), 1985– British bicycle racer, b. Nairobi, Kenya. The most dominant road cyclist of the 2010s, he turned professional in 2007 and has ridden with Teams Konica...