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Weston-super-Mare

(Encyclopedia)Weston-super-Mare wĕstˈən-so͞oˈpər-mâr [key], city (1991 pop. 60,821), North Somerset, SW England, on the Bristol Channel. It is a seaside resort with attractions that include Worlebury Hill, w...

Carpenter, Edward

(Encyclopedia)Carpenter, Edward, 1844–1929, English author. Although ordained a minister in 1869, he became a Fabian socialist in 1874 and renounced religion. Among his works on social reform are Towards Democrac...

flood, in hydrology

(Encyclopedia)flood, inundation of land by the rise and overflow of a body of water. Floods occur most commonly when water from heavy rainfall, from melting ice and snow, or from a combination of these exceeds the ...

Numantia

(Encyclopedia)Numantia no͞omănˈshə [key], ancient settlement, Spain, near the Durius (now Douro) River and north of modern Soria. Numantia played a central role in the Celt-Iberian resistance to Roman conquest....

Ardigò, Roberto

(Encyclopedia)Ardigò, Roberto rōbĕrˈtō ärdēgôˈ [key], 1828–1920, Italian positivist philosopher. His early life was spent in the priesthood, from which he withdrew in dissatisfaction at the age of 43. La...

Shoemaker, Bill

(Encyclopedia)Shoemaker, Bill (William Lee Shoemaker), 1931–2003, American jockey, b. Fabens, Tex. A schoolboy wrestler and Golden Gloves boxer, he became a jockey and won his first race at age 18. The former all...

Christian Endeavor

(Encyclopedia)Christian Endeavor, association in evangelical Protestant Churches for strengthening spiritual life and promoting Christian activities among its members. The first Young People's Society of Christian ...

Deutsch, Babette

(Encyclopedia)Deutsch, Babette doich [key], 1895–1982, American poet, b. New York City. Her poems are noted for their technical virtuosity and wide range of tone and subject matter. Her best-known collections inc...

Oliphant, Margaret Oliphant (Wilson)

(Encyclopedia)Oliphant, Margaret Oliphant (Wilson), 1828–97, Scottish author. She was widowed at the age of 31 and subsequently supported her own three children and her brother and his family. Astonishingly proli...

Irnerius

(Encyclopedia)Irnerius ûrˌnērˈēəs [key], c.1055–c.1130, Italian jurist and founder of the law school (c.1088) at Bologna, which became the center of legal scholarship in Europe. Though little is known of hi...