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water power

(Encyclopedia)water power, mechanical energy derived from falling or flowing water, e.g., rivers, streams, and the overflow of dams. The wooden water wheel, long utilized for driving machinery in flour mills and fa...

Mennonites

(Encyclopedia)Mennonites mĕnˈnənīts [key], descendants of the Dutch and Swiss evangelical Anabaptists of the 16th cent. The name Mennonite is derived from Menno Simons (c.1496–1561), Dutch reformer and org...

Limón, José

(Encyclopedia)Limón, José (José Arcadio Limón) hōsāˈ lĭmōnˈ, lē– [key], 1908–72, American modern dancer, choreographer, and teacher known for powerfully masculine dancing and dramatic choreography. H...

López, Francisco Solano

(Encyclopedia)López, Francisco Solano lōˈpās [key], 1826?–1870, president of Paraguay (1862–70). He was the son of Carlos Antonio López, who made him a brigadier general at 18. Appointed head of a diploma...

Micheaux, Oscar Devereaux

(Encyclopedia)Micheaux, Oscar Devereaux, 1884–1951, American filmmaker and author, b. Metropolis, Ill. The son of former slaves, Micheaux first worked as a Pullman porter, then was a homesteader in South Dakota. ...

milkweed

(Encyclopedia)milkweed, common name for members of the Asclepiadaceae, a family of mostly perennial herbs and shrubs characterized by milky sap, a tuft of silky hairs attached to the seed (for wind distribution), a...

Montevideo

(Encyclopedia)Montevideo mŏntāvēᵺāˈō [key], city (1996 pop. 1,330,405), S Uruguay, capital and largest city of Uruguay, on the Río de La Plata. It is one of the major ports of South America and the governm...

Majorca

(Encyclopedia)Majorca mälyôrˈkä [key], island (1991 pop. 602,074), 1,405 sq mi (3,639 sq km), Spain, largest of the Balearic Islands, in the W Mediterranean. Palma is the chief city. Majorca is mountainous in t...

Rothschild, Nathan Meyer

(Encyclopedia)Rothschild, Nathan Meyer, 1777–1836, British banker, b. Frankfurt, Germany; of the famous Rothschild family. He went to England in 1797, was naturalized in 1804, and opened a business house in Londo...

Third World

(Encyclopedia)Third World, the technologically less advanced, or developing, nations of Asia, Africa, and Latin America, generally characterized as poor, having economies distorted by their dependence on the export...