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tortoiseshell

(Encyclopedia)tortoiseshell, horny, translucent, mottled plates covering the carapace of the tropical hawksbill turtle. The plates, too thin for most purposes in their original form, are usually built up in layers ...

Abd ar-Rahman I, emir of Córdoba

(Encyclopedia)Abd ar-Rahman I, d. 788, first Umayyad emir of Córdoba (756–88). The only survivor of the Abbasid massacre (750) of his family in Damascus, he fled from Syria and eventually went to Spain. There he...

Gratian, Roman emperor of the West

(Encyclopedia)Gratian grāˈshən [key], 359–83, Roman emperor of the West (375–83). At the death of his father, Valentinian I, he accepted the army's election of his brother, Valentinian II, as his colleague. ...

International Court of Justice

(Encyclopedia)International Court of Justice, principal judicial organ of the United Nations, established 1946 by chapter 14 of the UN Charter. It superseded the Permanent Court of International Justice (see World ...

Cordilleras

(Encyclopedia)Cordilleras kôrdĭlˈərəz, Span. kōrdēyāˈräs [key] [Span., originally=little string], general name for the entire chain of mountain systems of W North America, extending from N Alaska to Nicar...

Merrick, David

(Encyclopedia)Merrick, David, 1912–2000, American theatrical producer, b. St. Louis, Mo., as David Margulois. Merrick began his remarkably successful series of theatrical productions in 1954 with Fanny, his first...

Byng, Julian Hedworth George, 1st Viscount Byng of Vimy

(Encyclopedia)Byng, Julian Hedworth George, 1st Viscount Byng of Vimy vĭmˈē, vēmēˈ [key], 1862–1935, British general. He served in India and South Africa and had several commands in World War I. In Apr., 19...

Abd ar-Rahman III, emir and caliph of Córdoba

(Encyclopedia)Abd ar-Rahman III, 891–961, Umayyad emir (912–29) and first caliph (929–61) of Córdoba. When he succeeded to the throne, the Spanish emirate was reduced to Córdoba and its environs and beset w...

celluloid

(Encyclopedia)celluloid [from cellulose], transparent, colorless synthetic plastic made by treating cellulose nitrate with camphor and alcohol. Celluloid was the first important synthetic plastic and was widely use...

Congo, Republic of the

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Congo, Republic of the, republic (2015 est. pop. 4,996,000), 132,046 sq mi (342,000 sq km), W central Africa; also known as the Congo Republic. Congo is bordered on the west by Gabon; on the no...