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Mafra

(Encyclopedia)Mafra mäˈfrə [key], town (1991 est. pop. 9,800), Lisboa dist., W central Portugal, in Estremadura. It is noted for its huge 18th-century palace and monastery, built by John V in imitation of Spain'...

Franceschini, Baldassare

(Encyclopedia)Franceschini, Baldassare bäldäs-säˈrā fränchāskēˈnē [key], 1611–89, Florentine painter; pupil of his father, who was a sculptor. He was also called Volterrano. His works include the Corona...

Avery Island

(Encyclopedia)Avery Island, salt dome, 163 ft (50 m) high and 2 mi (3.2 km) in diameter, S La., in an area of sea marshes and swamps. A corporation controlled by the Avery and McIlhenny families owns the island. Ho...

Blashfield, Edwin Howland

(Encyclopedia)Blashfield, Edwin Howland, 1848–1936, American mural painter and mosaic designer, b. New York City, studied with Bonnat in Paris. From the 1890s on he worked chiefly as a muralist, creating large wo...

Brunelleschi, Filippo

(Encyclopedia)Brunelleschi, Filippo fēlēpˈpō bro͞onĕl-lĕsˈkē [key], 1377–1446, first great architect of the Italian Renaissance, a Florentine by birth. Trained as sculptor and goldsmith, he designed a tr...

Saint Helens, Mount

(Encyclopedia)Saint Helens, Mount, volcanic peak, 8,363 ft (2,549 m; 9,677 ft/2,950 m before its 1980 eruption) high, SW Wash., historically the most active volcano in the Cascade Range. Dormant since 1857, Mt. St....

igloo

(Encyclopedia)igloo ĭgˈlo͞o [key] [Inuit,=house]. The Eskimos traditionally had three types of houses. A summer house, which was basically a tent, a winter house, which was usually partially dug into the ground ...

Kikai Caldera

(Encyclopedia)Kikai Caldera, massive caldera, c.12 mi (19 km) in diameter, Ryukyu Islands, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. Located c.30 mi (48 km) from the southern tip of the densely populated major island of Kyushu,...

Duquesnoy, François

(Encyclopedia)Duquesnoy, François fräNswäˈ dükĕnwäˈ [key], 1594–1643, Flemish sculptor. In 1618 he went to Rome, where he remained most of his life, eventually becoming one of the most sought after sculpt...

Hough, George Washington

(Encyclopedia)Hough, George Washington hŭf [key], 1836–1909, American astronomer, b. Montgomery co., N.Y., grad. Union College, 1856. He discovered 627 double stars and made systematic studies of the surface of ...