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Palk Strait

(Encyclopedia)Palk Strait pôk, pôlk [key], 40 to 85 mi (64–137 km) wide, between India and Sri Lanka. At its southern end, it is studded with shoal reefs, forming Adam's Bridge (or Rama's Bridge), and by small ...

Schwabach

(Encyclopedia)Schwabach shväˈbäkh [key], city (1994 pop. 37,307), Bavaria, S Germany. Manufactures include wire, needles, chemicals, and processed foods. Schwabach was chartered in the late 14th cent. It passed ...

Connelly, Marc

(Encyclopedia)Connelly, Marc (Marcus Cook Connelly) kŏnˈəlē [key], 1890–1981, American dramatist, b. McKeesport, Pa. He is best known for his Pulitzer Prize winning play The Green Pastures (1930), a fantasy o...

Gordon, Ruth

(Encyclopedia)Gordon, Ruth, 1896–1985, American actress and playwright, b. Wollaston, Mass. From her debut as Nibs in Peter Pan (1915), Gordon's career encompassed broad stage and film experience. Among the plays...

American architecture

(Encyclopedia)American architecture, the architecture produced in the geographical area that now constitutes the United States. Wright, generally acknowledged as one of the greatest architects of the 20th cent., ...

sociology

(Encyclopedia)sociology, scientific study of human social behavior. As the study of humans in their collective aspect, sociology is concerned with all group activities—economic, social, political, and religious. ...

cymbals

(Encyclopedia)cymbals sĭmˈbəlz [key], percussion instruments of ancient Asian origin. They consist of a pair of slightly concave metal plates which produce a vibrant sound of indeterminate pitch. Known in Europe...

Ewald, Johannes

(Encyclopedia)Ewald, Johannes yōhänˈəs āˈväl [key], 1743–81, Danish poet. Ewald's elegant verse made him the leading poet of his time. He studied for the ministry but soon turned to writing. His lyrical tr...

Millar, John

(Encyclopedia)Millar, John, 1735–1801, Scottish philosopher and historian. Millar studied at Glasgow, where he became the chief disciple of Adam Smith. In 1761 Millar became professor of civil law at Glasgow, and...

Rangel, Charles Bernard

(Encyclopedia)Rangel, Charles Bernard răngˈgəl [key], 1930–, U.S. congressman, b. New York City. Receiving his law degree from St. John's Univ. in 1960, Rangel served in the New York state assembly (1966–70)...