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Polk, Leonidas Lafayette

(Encyclopedia)Polk, Leonidas Lafayette, 1837–92, American agrarian leader, b. Anson co., N.C. After studying agriculture at Davidson College, he managed a plantation in North Carolina, served with the Confederate...

Ghats

(Encyclopedia)Ghats gŏts [key] [Hindi,=steps], two mountain ranges of S India, paralleling the coasts of the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal and forming two sides of the Deccan plateau. Anai Mudi (8,841 ft/2,695...

FitzRoy, Robert

(Encyclopedia)FitzRoy, Robert, 1805–65, British naval officer, meteorologist, and hydrologist. Given (1829) temporary command of the HMS Beagle, he completed a survey of the coasts of Patagonia and Tierra del Fue...

Taymyr Peninsula

(Encyclopedia)Taymyr Peninsula or Taimyr Peninsula both: tīmĭrˈ [key], northernmost projection of Siberia, N Krasnoyarsk Territory, N central Siberian Russia, between the estuaries of the Yenisei and Khatanga ri...

Trafalgar, battle of

(Encyclopedia)Trafalgar, battle of trəfălˈgər [key], naval engagement fought off Cape Trafalgar on the SW coast of Spain on Oct. 21, 1805, in which the British fleet under Horatio Nelson won a famous victory ov...

Korea

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Korea kôrēˈə, kə– [key], Korean Hanguk or Choson, region and historic country (85,049 sq mi/220,277 sq km), E Asia. A peninsula, 600 mi (966 km) long, Korea separates the Sea of Japan (c...

Johnston, Samuel

(Encyclopedia)Johnston, Samuel, 1733–1816, political leader in the American Revolution, b. Dundee, Scotland. He emigrated as a child to North Carolina, where his uncle, Gabriel Johnston, was royal governor. After...

Michaux, André

(Encyclopedia)Michaux, André äNdrāˈ mēshōˈ [key], 1746–1802, French botanist. He collected botanical specimens in Europe and Asia. In 1785 he was sent by the French government to establish nurseries in the...

Guinea-Bissau

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Guinea-Bissau bĭsˌsouˈ [key], officially Republic of Guinea-Bissau, republic (2015 est. pop. 1,771,000), 13,948 sq mi (36,125 sq km), W Africa. It borders on the Atlantic Ocean in the west, ...

IJmuiden

(Encyclopedia)IJmuiden īmoiˈdən [key], city (1991 est. pop. 58,000), North Holland prov., W Netherlands, on the North Sea. It is part of the municipality of Velsen. The city is a seaport, fishing, and industrial...