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Selma

(Encyclopedia)Selma, city (1990 pop. 23,755), seat of Dallas co., S central Ala., on the Alabama River, in a fertile farm area; inc. 1820. Machinery, paper products, construction materials, transportation equipment...

Landor, Walter Savage

(Encyclopedia)Landor, Walter Savage, 1775–1864, English poet and essayist, educated at Oxford. After a quarrel with his father, he went to live in Wales, where he wrote the epic poem Gebir (1798). The middle and ...

Gibson, Bob

(Encyclopedia)Gibson, Bob (Pack Robert Gibson), 1935–2020, American baseball player, b. Omaha, Nebr. Gibson, a right-hander with a reputation for being both intense and intimidating, was one of baseball's most do...

Bryant, William Cullen

(Encyclopedia)Bryant, William Cullen brīˈənt [key], 1794–1878, American poet and newspaper editor, b. Cummington, Mass. The son of a learned and highly respected physician, Bryant was exposed to English poetry...

Geological Survey, United States

(Encyclopedia)Geological Survey, United States, bureau organized in 1879 under the Dept. of the Interior to unify and centralize the work already undertaken by separate surveys under Clarence King, F. V. Hayden, Ge...

Muscle Shoals

(Encyclopedia)Muscle Shoals, town (1990 pop. 9,611), Colbert co., NW Ala., on the Tennessee River opposite Florence; inc. 1923. Chemicals, truck trailers, and nuts, screws, and bolts are manufactured. The river for...

Choate, Joseph Hodges

(Encyclopedia)Choate, Joseph Hodges chōt [key], 1832–1917, American lawyer and diplomat, b. Salem, Mass.; nephew of Rufus Choate. After being admitted (1855) to the bar, he moved to New York City. His legal care...

dime novels

(Encyclopedia)dime novels, swift-moving, thrilling novels, mainly about the American Revolution, the frontier period, and the Civil War. The books were first sold in 1860 for 10 cents by the firm of Beadle and Adam...

guitar

(Encyclopedia)guitar, musical instrument related to the lute, modern guitars normally having six strings that are plucked with the fingers or strummed with a pick. Earlier versions had pairs of strings like the lut...

Tennessee, river, United States

(Encyclopedia)Tennessee, river, c.650 mi (1,050 km) long, the principal tributary of the Ohio River. It is formed by the confluence of the Holston and French Broad rivers near Knoxville, Tenn., and follows a U-shap...

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