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loon

(Encyclopedia)loon, common name for migratory aquatic birds found in fresh- and saltwater in the colder parts of the Northern Hemisphere. Its strange, laughing call carries for great distances. Like the grebes, loo...

Medan, city, Indonesia

(Encyclopedia)Medan mādänˈ [key], city (1990 pop. 1,730,052), capital of North Sumatra prov., NE Sumatra, Indonesia, on the Deli River, c.15 mi (25 km) from its mouth, where the city's port (Belawan) is situated...

Maginot Line

(Encyclopedia)Maginot Line măzhˈĭnō, Fr. mäzhēnōˈ [key], system of fortifications along the eastern frontier of France, extending from the Swiss border to the Belgian. It was named for André Maginot, who w...

Marius, Caius

(Encyclopedia)Marius, Caius mârˈēəs [key], c.157 b.c.–86 b.c., Roman general. A plebeian, he became tribune (119 b.c.) and praetor (115 b.c.) and was seven times consul. He served under Scipio Africanus Minor...

Tennent, Gilbert

(Encyclopedia)Tennent, Gilbert, 1703–64, American Presbyterian clergyman, leading preacher of the Great Awakening, b. Ireland; son of William Tennent. He moved with his parents to Pennsylvania c.1718. Installed a...

Thorndike, Edward Lee

(Encyclopedia)Thorndike, Edward Lee thôrnˈdīk [key], 1874–1949, American educator and psychologist, b. Williamsburg, Mass., grad. Wesleyan Univ., 1895, and Harvard, 1896, Ph.D. Columbia, 1898. Appointed instru...

Seabury, Samuel, American jurist

(Encyclopedia)Seabury, Samuel, 1873–1958, American jurist, b. New York City; great-great-grandson of Samuel Seabury (1729–96). He served on the supreme court (1907–14) and on the court of appeals (1914–16) ...

Bellini, Vincenzo

(Encyclopedia)Bellini, Vincenzo vēnchānˈtsō bĕl-lēˈnē [key], 1801–35, Italian opera composer. He acquired his musical training from his grandfather and father, and began composing religious and secular mu...

Alabama claims

(Encyclopedia)Alabama claims, claims made by the U.S. government against Great Britain for the damage inflicted on Northern merchant ships during the American Civil War by the Alabama and other Confederate cruisers...

Gregory Nazianzen, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Gregory Nazianzen, Saint nāzēănˈzĭn [key], c.330–390, Cappadocian theologian, Doctor of the Church, one of the Four Fathers of the Greek Church. He is sometimes called Gregory of Nazianzus and ...