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Leo XIII, pope

(Encyclopedia)Leo XIII, 1810–1903, pope (1878–1903), an Italian (b. Carpineto, E of Rome) named Gioacchino Pecci; successor of Pius IX. Ordained in 1837, he earned an excellent reputation as archbishop of Perug...

frog

(Encyclopedia)frog, common name for an amphibian of the order Anura. Frogs are found all over the world, except in Antarctica. They require moisture and usually live in quiet freshwater or in the woods. Some frogs ...

primate

(Encyclopedia)primate, member of the mammalian order Primates, which includes humans, apes, monkeys, and prosimians, or lower primates. The group can be traced to the late Cretaceous period, where members were fore...

dialectical materialism

(Encyclopedia)dialectical materialism, official philosophy of Communism, based on the writings of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, as elaborated by G. V. Plekhanov, V. I. Lenin, and Joseph Stalin. In theory dialecti...

Lagerlöf, Selma

(Encyclopedia)Lagerlöf, Selma sĕlˈmä läˈgərlöv [key], 1858–1940, Swedish novelist. Her native Värmland is the background for many of her excellent stories, which deal with peasant life. Novels include Th...

Monge, Gaspard, comte de Péluse

(Encyclopedia)Monge, Gaspard, comte de Péluse gäspärˈ môNzh kôNt də pālüzˈ [key], 1746–1818, French mathematician, physicist, and public official. He was distinguished for his geometrical research, whic...

malice

(Encyclopedia)malice, in law, an intentional violation of the law of crimes or torts that injures another person. Malice need not involve a malignant spirit or the definite intent to do harm. To prove malice, it is...

Massine, Léonide

(Encyclopedia)Massine, Léonide lāônēdˈ mäsēnˈ [key], 1896–1979, Russian choreographer and ballet dancer, b. Leonid Fyodorovich Miassin. Massine attended the Imperial Ballet School, St. Petersburg, and bec...

Murphy, Frank

(Encyclopedia)Murphy, Frank, 1890–1949, American political figure, associate justice of the Supreme Court (1940–49), b. Harbor Beach, Mich. After serving as a U.S. attorney (1919–20) and as a judge of recorde...

Geological Survey, United States

(Encyclopedia)Geological Survey, United States, bureau organized in 1879 under the Dept. of the Interior to unify and centralize the work already undertaken by separate surveys under Clarence King, F. V. Hayden, Ge...