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Ssu-ma Ch'ien

(Encyclopedia)Ssu-ma Ch'ien so͝oˈmä chyĕn [key], 145?–90? b.c., Chinese historian; sometimes called the Father of Chinese History. He succeeded his father, Ssu-ma T'an, as grand historian (an office then deal...

Canaletto

(Encyclopedia)Canaletto känälĕtˈtō [key], 1697–1768, Venetian painter, whose original name was Antonio Canal. He studied with his father, Bernardo Canal, a theatrical scene painter, and spent several years i...

Wisconsin Rapids

(Encyclopedia)Wisconsin Rapids, city (1990 pop. 18,245), seat of Wood co., central Wis., on the Wisconsin River; inc. 1869. Paper, heating equipment, and steel castings are produced. Dairy farms, agriculture, and a...

squirrel

(Encyclopedia)squirrel, name for small or medium-sized rodents of the family Sciuridae, found throughout the world except in Australia, Madagascar, and the polar regions; it is applied especially to the tree-living...

Carboniferous period

(Encyclopedia)Carboniferous period kärbənĭfˈərəs [key], fifth period of the Paleozoic era of geologic time (see Geologic Timescale, tablegeologic timescale, table), from 350 to 290 million years ago. The pl...

Post, Wiley

(Encyclopedia)Post, Wiley, 1899–1935, American aviator, b. Grand Plain, Tex. He won fame in 1931 when he and Harold Gatty flew around the northern part of the earth in 8 days 15 hr 51 min. In 1933 he made a secon...

Federer, Roger

(Encyclopedia)Federer, Roger, 1981–, Swiss tennis player, b. Basel. He was an outstanding junior player, ranking number one in 1998, the year he turned pro. Federer won his first Association of Tennis Professiona...

Saint Maurice

(Encyclopedia)Saint Maurice sānt môrˈĭs, Fr. săN môrēsˈ [key], river, c.325 mi (520 km) long, rising in the Laurentian Mts., S Que., Canada, and flowing SE and S to the St. Lawrence River at Trois Rivières...

Grande Prairie

(Encyclopedia)Grande Prairie Fr. gräNd prâˌrēˈ [key], city, W Alta., Canada, NW of Edmonton. It is the chief business ...

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