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Sedgwick, Adam

(Encyclopedia)Sedgwick, Adam, 1785–1873, English geologist. He was a professor at Cambridge from 1818. His most important work was a study, made with R. I. Murchison, of the rock formation of Devonshire, which th...

pillbox

(Encyclopedia)pillbox, small, low fortification that houses machine guns and antitank weapons. Similar to a blockhouse, it is usually made of concrete, steel, logs, or filled sandbags. Pillboxes came into use durin...

Victor Emmanuel III

(Encyclopedia)Victor Emmanuel III, 1869–1947, king of Italy (1900–1946), emperor of Ethiopia (1936–43), king of Albania (1939–43), son and successor of Humbert I. In 1896 he married Princess Helena of Monte...

Azerbaijan, region, Iran

(Encyclopedia)Azerbaijan äˌzĕrbījänˈ, ăˌzər– [key], Iran. Azarbayejan, region, c.34,280 sq mi (88,785 sq km), NW Iran, divided into the provinces of East Azerbaijan, ...

Hunan

(Encyclopedia)Hunan ho͞oˈnänˈ [key] [south of the lake], province, c.80,000 sq mi (207,254 sq km), S ce...

grain, in agriculture

(Encyclopedia)grain, in agriculture, term referring to the caryopsis, or dry fruit, of a cereal grass. The term is also applied to the seedlike fruits of buckwheat and of certain other plants and is used collective...

Hughes, Sir Samuel

(Encyclopedia)Hughes, Sir Samuel, 1853–1921, Canadian political leader, b. Ontario. A schoolteacher and newspaper editor, he entered the House of Commons in 1892 and held a seat until his death. As minister of mi...

Ames, Ezra

(Encyclopedia)Ames, Ezra, 1768–1836, American painter, b. Framingham, Mass. Early in his life he worked as a carriage painter, miniaturist, engraver, and decorator, first in Worcester, Mass., and later in Albany,...

Epictetus

(Encyclopedia)Epictetus ĕpĭktēˈtəs [key], c.a.d. 50–c.a.d. 138, Phrygian Stoic philosopher. He wrote nothing, but his teachings were set down by his disciple Arrian in the Discourses and the Encheiridion. Ep...

Murad IV

(Encyclopedia)Murad IV, 1612?–1640, Ottoman sultan (1623–40), nephew and successor of Mustafa I. He recovered (1638) Baghdad, which Shah Abbas I of Persia had seized. On his victory he sent an order to murder h...