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Local Group

(Encyclopedia)Local Group, in astronomy, loose cluster of at least 40 nearby galaxies, including our own Milky Way galaxy, the Andromeda Galaxy, and the Magellanic Clouds. The Local Group is spread over an ellipsoi...

Dunois, Jean, comte de

(Encyclopedia)Dunois, Jean, comte de zhäN kôNt də dünwäˈ [key], c.1403–1468, French general, called the Bastard of Orléans; natural son of Louis, duc d'Orléans. He joined the Armagnacs in the civil war du...

Allston, Washington

(Encyclopedia)Allston, Washington ôlˈstən [key], 1779–1843, American painter and author, b. Georgetown co., S.C. After graduating from Harvard (1800), where he composed music and wrote poetry (published in 181...

snowball earth

(Encyclopedia)snowball earth, hypothesized condition in which the earth was covered completely by ice during several periods in the Proterozoic. The hypothesis was originally developed to explain evidence of the co...

Homo erectus

(Encyclopedia)Homo erectus hōˈmō ērĕkˈtəs [key], extinct hominin living between 1.6 million and 250,000 years ago, possibly as late as c.110,000 years ago. Homo erectus is thought to have evolved in Africa f...

Australopithecus

(Encyclopedia)Australopithecus ôstrāˌlōpĭthˈəkəs, –pəthēˈkəs [key], an extinct hominin genus found in Africa between about 4 and 1 million years ago. At least seven species of australopithecines are n...

Nuremberg

(Encyclopedia)Nuremberg nürnˈbĕrkˌ [key], city (1994 pop. 498,945), Bavaria, S Germany, on the Pegnitz River and the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal. One of the great historic cities of Germany, Nuremberg is now an imp...

Manson, Patrick

(Encyclopedia)Manson, Patrick, 1844–1922, English parasitologist. After receiving his medical degree (1866) from the university at Aberdeen, Scotland, Manson left for China where he was to spend 24 years, studyin...

Marryat, Frederick

(Encyclopedia)Marryat, Frederick mărˈēăt [key], 1792–1848, English novelist. He is famous for his thrilling tales of sea adventure. His 24 years of service in the British navy in various parts of the world pr...

Riboud, Marc

(Encyclopedia)Riboud, Marc, 1923–2016, French photojournalist. After fighting in the resistance during World War II, he studied engineering. In 1952 he moved to Paris, where he met Henri Cartier-Bresson, who beca...