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Thorbecke, Jan Rudolf

(Encyclopedia)Thorbecke, Jan Rudolf yän ro͞oˈdôlf tôrˈbĕkə [key], 1798–1872, Dutch statesman. An eminent jurist and the leading liberal politician of his day, he was one of the men appointed in 1848 by Ki...

shipwreck

(Encyclopedia)shipwreck, complete or partial destruction of a vessel as a result of collision, fire, grounding, storm, explosion, or other mishap. In the ancient world sea travel was hazardous, but in modern times ...

Sibir

(Encyclopedia)Sibir sĭbērˈ [key], former city, southeast of present-day Tobolsk, W Siberian Russia. Founded in the 11th or 12th cent., it became (early 16th cent.) the capital of the Tatar khanate of Sibir, whic...

Claiborne, Craig

(Encyclopedia)Claiborne, Craig, 1920–2000, American food journalist, restaurant critic, and cookbook author, b. Sunflower, Miss., studied École Hôtelière de Lausanne, Switz. After settling in New York and writ...

Ghana, former empire, Africa

(Encyclopedia)Ghana gäˈnə [key], ancient empire, W Africa, in the savanna region of what is now E Senegal, SW Mali, and S Mauritania. The empire was founded c.6th cent. by Soninke peoples and lay astride the tra...

Dies irae

(Encyclopedia)Dies irae dēˈās ēˈrā [key] [Lat.,=day of wrath], hymn of the Roman Catholic Church. A part of the Requiem Mass, it is a powerful description of the Judgment and a prayer to Jesus for mercy. Sugg...

Oistrakh, David Feodorovich

(Encyclopedia)Oistrakh, David Feodorovich oiˈsträk [key], 1908–74, Ukrainian violinist, b. Odessa. Encouraged by his father, an amateur violinist, he began to study his instrument at the age of five. He graduat...

pallium

(Encyclopedia)pallium pălˈēəm [key], vestment proper to the pope, who confers it on archbishops in token of their union with and obedience to him. It is a band of cloth worn around the neck and has a 2-in. (5.1...

Palmares

(Encyclopedia)Palmares or Quilombo dos Palmares, former autonomous community of villages comprised of fugitive African slaves and indigenous peoples, present-day Pernambuco and Alagoas states, NE Brazil. Its capita...

Fort Garry

(Encyclopedia)Fort Garry, two trading posts of the Hudson's Bay Company, built on the present-day site of Winnipeg, Man., Canada, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers. The first, Upper Fort Garry, wa...