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Townsend, Mount

(Encyclopedia)Townsend, Mount, 7,247 ft (2,209 m) high, SE New South Wales, in the Australian Alps. The second tallest peak in Australia, it was explored by Polish-British geologist Sir Paul Strzelecki, who believe...

Davie, William Richardson

(Encyclopedia)Davie, William Richardson, 1756–1820, American Revolutionary soldier and statesman, b. Egremont, Cumberland, England. During the American Revolution he served under Casimir Pulaski and later took pa...

Prix de Rome, Grand

(Encyclopedia)Prix de Rome, Grand gräN prē də rôm [key], prize awarded annually by the French government, through competitive examination, to students of the fine arts. It entitles them to four years' study at ...

Decazes, Élie

(Encyclopedia)Decazes, Élie ālēˈ dəkäzˈ [key], 1780–1860, French statesman, a favorite of King Louis XVIII, who made him a duke in 1820. A lawyer and judge, Decazes was made minister of police in 1815 and ...

Zuma, Jacob Gedleyihlekisa

(Encyclopedia)Zuma, Jacob Gedleyihlekisa, 1942–, South African political leader, b. Indkandla, Natal (now KwaZulu-Natal) prov. Zuma received no formal schooling and joined the African National Congress (ANC) when...

W and Z particles

(Encyclopedia)W and Z particles, elementary particles that mediate, or carry, the fundamental force associated with weak interactions. The discovery of the W and Z particles at CERN near Geneva, Switzerland, in the...

Dole, Elizabeth Hanford

(Encyclopedia)Dole, Elizabeth Hanford, 1936–, American public official, b. Salisbury, N.C., B.A., Duke, 1958, J.D., Harvard, 1965; wife of Bob Dole. A Republican, she held several government positions including c...

Gérando, Joseph Marie de

(Encyclopedia)Gérando, Joseph Marie de zhôzĕfˈ märēˈ də zhāräNdōˈ [key], 1772–1842, French philosopher and political figure. Joining the insurrection in Lyons against the French Revolutionary governme...

Fitzhugh, George

(Encyclopedia)Fitzhugh, George, 1806–81, American author and editor, b. Prince William co., Va. Although he had little formal education he was admitted to the bar, but he devoted little time to the practice of la...

Maryland, University System of

(Encyclopedia)Maryland, University System of, state-supported system of higher education in Maryland, est. 1988 as the University of Maryland System, renamed 1997. It includes all but two of the publicly supported ...