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Great Smoky Mountains

(Encyclopedia)Great Smoky Mountains, part of the Appalachian system, on the N.C.–Tenn. border; highest range E of the Mississippi and one of the oldest uplands on earth. The mountains are named for the smokelike ...

planarian

(Encyclopedia)planarian, common name for several genera of the free-living (turbellarian) flatworms belonging to the order Tricladida, a name that derives from their characteristic three-branched digestive cavities...

Lerdo de Tejada, Miguel

(Encyclopedia)Lerdo de Tejada, Miguel mēgĕlˈ lĕrˈᵺō dā tāhäˈᵺä [key], d. 1861, Mexican liberal statesman, a leader of the Revolution of Ayutla, cabinet member under Juan Álvarez. As minister under C...

Safdie, Moshe

(Encyclopedia)Safdie, Moshe mōshāˈ säfˈdē [key], 1938–, Israeli-Canadian architect, b. Haifa. He grew up in Israel, moved to Canada with his family at 15, studied architecture at McGill Univ. and with Louis...

Beatty, Warren

(Encyclopedia)Beatty, Warren (Henry Warren Beaty) bāˈtē, bēˈ– [key], 1937–, motion picture act...

Alberti, Rafael

(Encyclopedia)Alberti, Rafael älbĕrˈtē [key], 1902–99, Spanish poet. After abandoning an earlier career as a painter, Alberti published his first book, Marinero en tierra [sailor on dry land] (1925), which w...

Alfonso XIII, king of Spain

(Encyclopedia)Alfonso XIII, 1886–1941, king of Spain (1886–1931), posthumous son and successor of Alfonso XII. His mother, Maria Christina (1858–1929), was regent until 1902. In 1906, Alfonso married Princess...

Uribe Vélez, Álvaro

(Encyclopedia)Uribe Vélez, Álvaro, 1952–, Colombian politician. A lawyer from a wealthy cattle-ranching family, he held a number of government posts before becoming mayor of Medellín in 1982; he was later a Co...

Valparaiso, city, Chile

(Encyclopedia)Valparaiso bälpäräēˈsō [key] [Span.,=vale of paradise], city (1992 pop. 276,737), capital of Valparaiso region, central Chile. It is the chief port of Chile and the terminus of a trans-Andean ra...

Velázquez, Diego de

(Encyclopedia)Velázquez, Diego de vəlăsˈkwĭz, Span. dyāˈgō dā vāläthˈkāth [key], c.1460–1524?, Spanish conquistador, first governor of Cuba, b. Cuéllar, Spain. He sailed with Christopher Columbus on...