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Monroe, Bill

(Encyclopedia)Monroe, Bill (William Smith Monroe), 1911–96, country singer, musician, and songwriter, often called the “father of bluegrass,” b. Rosine, Ky. A m...

Judd, Orange

(Encyclopedia)Judd, Orange, 1822–92, American agricultural editor and publisher, b. near Niagara Falls, N.Y., grad. Wesleyan Univ., 1847. At Wesleyan he built (1871) the Orange Judd Hall of Natural Science and se...

Haggard, Merle Ronald

(Encyclopedia)Haggard, Merle Ronald, 1937–2016, popular and influential American country singer-songwriter, b. Oildale, Calif. The outlaw poet of country music, he grew up in poverty and turned to petty crime as ...

Ne Win, U

(Encyclopedia)Ne Win, U o͞o nā wĭn [key], 1911–2002, Burmese soldier and political leader. He abandoned his original name, Shu Maung, in 1941 when he joined a Japanese-supported nationalist military group. Bec...

Mande

(Encyclopedia)Mande mänˈdā [key], language group, W Africa, including the Malinke, Dyula, Marka, Mende, Bambara, and Soninke subgroups. The Mande-speakers today number about 3 million and live mainly in Senegal,...

Groote Schuur

(Encyclopedia)Groote Schuur khro͝oˈtə skür [key] [Afrik.,=large barn], estate, Cape Town, Western Cape, SW South Africa. The main building of the estate, which is a good example of Dutch colonial architecture, ...

Tanganyika, Lake

(Encyclopedia)Tanganyika, Lake, second largest lake of Africa, c.12,700 sq mi (32,890 sq km), E central Africa on the borders of Tanzania, Congo (Kinshasa), Zambia, and Burundi. It is c.420 mi (680 km) long and up ...

spoonbill

(Encyclopedia)spoonbill, common name for a large wading bird related to the ibis. It has a long bill with a tip like a flattened spoon, with which it captures small aquatic animals. The roseate spoonbill, Ajaia aja...

Boer

(Encyclopedia)Boer bo͝or, bôr [key] [Du.,=farmer], inhabitant of South Africa of Dutch or French Huguenot descent. Boers are also known as Afrikaners. They first settled (1652) near the Cape of Good Hope in what ...

Ituraea

(Encyclopedia)Ituraea ĭtyo͝orēˈə [key], ancient country on the northern border of Palestine. According to tradition, Jetur, the son of Ishmael, was its founder. Ancient geographers are not agreed as to the exa...