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Hendrix, Jimi

(Encyclopedia)Hendrix, Jimi (James Marshall Hendrix), 1942–70, African-American rock guitarist, b. Seattle, Wash. Hendrix, in his short musical career, was known for an innovative and extremely influential guitar...

Stabat Mater Dolorosa

(Encyclopedia)Stabat Mater Dolorosa stäˈbät mäˈtĕr dōˌlōrōˈsä [key] [Lat.,=the sorrowful mother was standing], 13th-century hymn of the Roman Church attributed to Jacopone da Todi. A prayer meditating o...

Pennines

(Encyclopedia)Pennines pĕnˈīnz [key] or Pennine Chain, mountain range, sometimes called the “backbone of England,” extending c.160 mi (260 km) from the Cheviot Hills on the Scottish border to the Peak Distri...

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...

Nubian Desert

(Encyclopedia)Nubian Desert, eastern region of the Sahara Desert, c.157,000 sq mi (407,000 sq km), NE Republic of Sudan, NE Africa, between the Nile and the Red Sea. The arid region, largely a sandstone plateau, ha...

Fan Si Pan

(Encyclopedia)Fan Si Pan fäN sē päN [key], peak, 10,312 ft (3,143 m) high, on the divide between the Red and Black rivers, NW Vietnam, near the Chinese border. It is the highest point in Vietnam. ...

East Lansing

(Encyclopedia)East Lansing, city (2020 pop. 47,741, Ingham co., S central Mich., a suburb of Lansing, on the Red Cedar River; inc. 1907. The city was first known as C...

Pepin, Lake

(Encyclopedia)Pepin, Lake pĕpˈĭn, pĭpˈ– [key], a widening of the Mississippi River, 21 mi (34 km) long and c.3 mi (5 km) wide, SE Minn., between Wabasha and Red Wing; formed by a natural dam of silt dropped ...

Saint Paul's Cathedral

(Encyclopedia)Saint Paul's Cathedral, London, masterpiece of Sir Christopher Wren and one of the finest church designs of the English baroque. It stands at the head of Ludgate Hill, where, according to tradition, a...

corundum

(Encyclopedia)corundum kərŭnˈdəm [key], mineral, aluminum oxide, Al2O3. The clear varieties are used as gems and the opaque as abrasive materials. Corundum occurs in crystals of the hexagonal system and in mass...

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