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Matute, Ana María

(Encyclopedia)Matute, Ana María äˈnä märēˈä mäto͞oˈtā [key], 1926–2014, Spanish novelist, b. Barcelona. Much of her fiction, which has been translated into more than 20 languages, reflects her searing...

Yucca Mountain

(Encyclopedia)Yucca Mountain, mountain in the SW Nevada desert about 100 mi (161 km) northwest of Las Vegas. It is the proposed site of a Dept. of Energy (DOE) repository for up to 77,000 metric tons of nuclear was...

Aegina, island, Greece

(Encyclopedia)Aegina or Aíyina āˈyēnä [key], island, 32 sq mi (83 sq km), off SE Greece, in the Saronic Gulf (or Gulf of Aegina), near Athens. Sponge fishing and farming (fi...

Sutter, John Augustus

(Encyclopedia)Sutter, John Augustus, 1803–80, American pioneer, b. Kandern, Baden, of Swiss parents. His original name was Johann August Suter. He emigrated to the United States in 1834, went to St. Louis, then t...

totem

(Encyclopedia)totem tōˈtəm [key], an object, usually an animal or plant (or all animals or plants of that species), that is revered by members of a particular social group because of a mystical or ritual relatio...

Villard, Henry

(Encyclopedia)Villard, Henry vĭlärdˈ [key], 1835–1900, American journalist and financier, b. Germany. His first name was originally Hilgard. He attended universities in Germany, and after he reached (1853) the...

Coverdale, Miles

(Encyclopedia)Coverdale, Miles, 1488–1569, b. Yorkshire. English translator of the Bible, educated at Cambridge. Coverdale was ordained (1514) and entered the house of Augustinian friars at Cambridge. After devel...

Faulkner, Brian

(Encyclopedia)Faulkner, Brian fôkˈnər [key], 1921–77, Northern Irish politician. A Protestant businessman, he was elected to the Northern Ireland Parliament as a Unionist in 1949. As minister of home affairs (...

horology

(Encyclopedia)horology hōrŏlˈəjē [key], science of measuring time and technology of constructing instruments for its measurement or recording. Early measurements of the passage of time were based on observatio...

Froissart, Jean

(Encyclopedia)Froissart, Jean zhäN frəwäsärˈ [key], c.1337–1410?, French chronicler, poet, and courtier, b. Valenciennes. Although ordained as a priest, he led a worldly life. He became a protégé of Queen ...