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Smeaton, John

(Encyclopedia)Smeaton, John smēˈtən [key], 1724–92, English civil engineer. He became an instrument maker, improved navigation instruments, and carried out many experiments on mechanical apparatus. Between 175...

Blair, Francis Preston, 1821–75, American political leader

(Encyclopedia)Blair, Francis Preston, 1821–75, American political leader and Union general in the Civil War, b. Lexington, Ky., son of Francis Preston Blair (1791–1876). A St. Louis lawyer, Blair led the Free-S...

Bruce

(Encyclopedia)Bruce, Scottish royal family descended from an 11th-century Norman duke, Robert de Brus. He aided William I in his conquest of England (1066) and was given lands in England. His son was granted fiefs ...

Lambeth

(Encyclopedia)Lambeth lămˈbəth [key], inner borough (1991 pop. 220,100) of Greater London, SE England, on the Thames River. It is largely residential but is important as an area of governmental and commercial of...

Baykal-Amur Mainline

(Encyclopedia)Baykal-Amur Mainline (BAM), railroad line linking central Siberian Russia with the Pacific. The BAM parallels the Trans-Siberian RR but passes north rather than south of Lake Baykal. It is 1,928 mi (3...

Henry I, king of France

(Encyclopedia)Henry I, c.1008–1060, king of France (1031–60), son and successor of King Robert II. To defend his throne against his mother, his brothers Robert and Eudes, and subsequently against the count of B...

Alameda

(Encyclopedia)Alameda ăləmēˈdə, –māˈdə [key], city (2020 pop. 78,280), Alameda co., W central Calif., on an island just off the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay; settled 185...

Port Charlotte

(Encyclopedia)Port Charlotte, uninc. town (1990 pop. 41,535), Charlotte co., SW Fla., on Charlotte Harbor (an inlet of the Gulf of Mexico) and the Peace and Myakka rivers. It is a planned residential community—on...

Yalu

(Encyclopedia)Yalu yäˈlo͞oˈ [key], Korean Amnok, river, c.500 mi (800 km) long, rising in the Changbai Mts. in Jilin prov., NE China, and flowing SW to the Bay of Korea at Dandong; forms part of the China–Nor...

Tunstall, Cuthbert

(Encyclopedia)Tunstall or Tonstall, Cuthbert both: tŭnˈstəl [key], 1474–1559, English bishop. After studying at Oxford, Cambridge, and Padua, he entered the church and was rapidly advanced. A friend of Thomas ...