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Service, Robert William

(Encyclopedia)Service, Robert William, 1874–1958, Canadian poet and novelist, b. England, educated at the Univ. of Glasgow. He went to Canada in 1897 and held odd jobs in British Columbia and at Whitehorse in the...

prism

(Encyclopedia)prism, in optics, a piece of translucent glass or crystal used to form a spectrum of light separated according to colors. Its cross section is usually triangular. The light becomes separated because d...

Sikorski, Władysław

(Encyclopedia)Sikorski, Władysław vlädĭˈswäf shēkôrˈskē [key], 1881–1943, Polish general and politician. He fought in World War I and later (1922–25) held various cabinet posts. Premier Piłsudski dis...

Zinsser, Hans

(Encyclopedia)Zinsser, Hans zĭnsˈər [key], 1878–1940, American bacteriologist, b. New York City, grad. Columbia (B.A., 1899; M.D., 1903). He was professor of bacteriology at Stanford (1911–13), Columbia (191...

fox, in zoology

(Encyclopedia)fox, carnivorous mammal of the dog family, found throughout most of the Northern Hemisphere. It has a pointed face, short legs, long, thick fur, and a tail about one half to two thirds as long as the ...

Newman, Barnett

(Encyclopedia)Newman, Barnett, 1905–70, American artist, b. New York City. A member of the New York school, Newman was one of the first to reject conventional notions of spatial composition in art. Often using mo...

Arezzo

(Encyclopedia)Arezzo ärĕtˈtsō [key], city, capital of Arezzo prov., Tuscany, central Italy. It is an agricultural trade center and has machine, clothing, gold, and jewelry industrie...

Slatin, Rudolf Carl, Freiherr von

(Encyclopedia)Slatin, Rudolf Carl, Freiherr von päˈshä [key], 1857–1932, Austrian adventurer in British and Egyptian service. Called to Egypt by C. G. Gordon, Slatin became governor of Dara (1879) and governor...

Solferino

(Encyclopedia)Solferino sōlfārēˈnō [key], village, Lombardy, N Italy, near Mantua. There, on June 24, 1859, the French and Sardinians fought a bloody battle with the Austrians (see Risorgimento). Although the ...

decorations, civil and military

(Encyclopedia)decorations, civil and military, honors bestowed by a government to reward services or achievements, particularly those implying valor. The practice of bestowing such decorations dates back at least t...