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Borchgrevink, Carsten Egeberg

(Encyclopedia)Borchgrevink, Carsten Egeberg kärˈstən āˈgəbĕrˈ bôrkˈgrāˌvĭngk [key], 1864–1934, Norwegian-Australian antarctic explorer. He emigrated to Australia in 1888, and in 1894 he went south in...

Camões, Luís de

(Encyclopedia)Camões or Camoens, Luís de both: lo͞oēshˈ dĭ kəmoiNshˈ [key], 1524?–1580, Portuguese poet, the greatest figure in Portuguese literature. Born of a poor family, Camões gained wide familiarit...

Howard, Oliver Otis

(Encyclopedia)Howard, Oliver Otis, 1830–1909, Union general in the Civil War, founder of Howard Univ., b. Leeds, Maine, grad. Bowdoin College, 1850, and West Point, 1854. Made a brigadier general of volunteers (S...

Núñez Vela, Blasco

(Encyclopedia)Núñez Vela, Blasco bläˈskō no͞oˈnyās vāˈlä [key], d. 1546, first viceroy of Peru (1544–46). Sent to replace Vaca de Castro and to enforce the New Laws of Bartolomé de Las Casas, he had a...

McKay, Donald

(Encyclopedia)McKay, Donald məkāˈ, məkīˈ [key], 1810–80, American shipbuilder, b. Nova Scotia. He opened his own shipyard in Newburyport, Mass., in 1841, then moved to Boston in 1845. He grew celebrated as ...

Argus

(Encyclopedia)Argus ärˈgŏs, –gəs [key], in Greek mythology. 1 Many-eyed monster, also called Panoptes. He guarded Io after she had been changed into a heifer. After Hermes slew the monster, Hera took his eyes...

Runcorn

(Encyclopedia)Runcorn, city (1991 pop. 63,995), Halton, W England, on the Mersey River. It is located on the Manchester Ship Canal and is the terminus of the Bridgewater Canal, which is connected to the Mersey by a...

icebreaker

(Encyclopedia)icebreaker, ship of special hull design and wide beam, with relatively flat bottom, designed to force its way through ice. When the icebreaker charges into the ice at full speed, its sharply inclined ...

Senkaku Islands

(Encyclopedia)Senkaku Islands sĕnˈkäko͞o [key], small, uninhabited island group, 8 sq mi (20.7 sq km), Okinawa prefecture, extreme SW Japan, in the East China Sea. Located 90 mi (45 km) NNW of Ishigaki in the R...

Shovell, Sir Clowdisley

(Encyclopedia)Shovell, Sir Clowdisley, or Sir Cloudesley Shovel kloudzˈlē shŭvˈəl [key], 1650–1707, English admiral. In the War of the Grand Alliance he burned enemy ships at the battle of La Hogue in 1692 a...