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D'Alembert's principle

(Encyclopedia)D'Alembert's principle dălˈəmbârzˌ [key], in mechanics, principle permitting the reduction of a problem in dynamics to one in statics. This is accomplished by introducing a fictitious force equal...

Gleizes, Albert Léon

(Encyclopedia)Gleizes, Albert Léon älbĕrˈ lāôNˈ glĕz [key], 1881–1953, French cubist painter, illustrator, and writer. He was among the outstanding cubists in the Salon des Indépendants of 1911. Gleizes ...

Pedersen, Charles John

(Encyclopedia)Pedersen, Charles John, 1904–89, American chemist, b. Busan, Korea, M.S. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1927. After finishing his studies, Pedersen began work as a research chemist for the D...

Péronne

(Encyclopedia)Péronne pārônˈ [key], town (1993 est. pop. 9,200), Somme dept., N France, in Picardy, on the Somme River. It is a farm trade center, and its manufactures include wool, bricks, furniture, and plast...

Casadesus, Robert

(Encyclopedia)Casadesus, Robert käsädāsüsˈ [key], 1899–1972, French pianist and composer, b. Paris. Casadesus was born into a family remarkable for its numerous celebrated musicians. After study at the Paris...

Cram, Donald James

(Encyclopedia)Cram, Donald James, 1919–2001, American chemist, b. Chester, Vt., Ph.D. Harvard, 1947. A professor at the Univ. of California at Los Angeles, Cram expanded on the work of Charles J. Pedersen by synt...

Dacko, David

(Encyclopedia)Dacko, David dävēdˈ däkōˈ [key], 1930–2003, president of the Central African Republic (1960–66, 1979–81). A leader in the independence movement in French Equatorial Africa, he became the f...

essence

(Encyclopedia)essence, in philosophy, the nature of a thing. Aristotle maintained that there is a distinction between the form of a thing—its intelligible, verbally formulable character—and the essence of a thi...

Hesdin, Jacquemart de

(Encyclopedia)Hesdin, Jacquemart de zhäkmärˈ də ādăNˈ [key], fl. c.1384–1411, Franco-Flemish manuscript illuminator. Jacquemart illustrated numerous books of hours, including a number of manuscripts for Je...

Hurok, Sol

(Encyclopedia)Hurok, Sol hyo͝orˈŏk, yo͝orˈ– [key], 1888–1974, American impresario, b. Russia. Emigrating to the United States in 1906, Hurok was a peddler, streetcar conductor, bottlewasher, and hardware s...

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