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Cenozoic era

(Encyclopedia)Cenozoic era sēnəzōˈĭk, sĕn– [key], last major division of geologic time (see Geologic Timescale, tablegeologic timescale, table) lasting from 65 million years ago to the present. The Cenozoic...

Eve, in genetics

(Encyclopedia)Eve, in genetics, popular term for a theoretical female ancestor of all living people, also known as Mitochondrial Eve. In 1987 biochemist Allan C. Wilson proposed that all living human beings had inh...

Hepburn, William Peters

(Encyclopedia)Hepburn, William Peters, 1833–1916, American legislator, b. Wellsville, Ohio. He was raised in Iowa and entered law there. He was a Civil War cavalry officer. From 1881 to 1887 he served as a Republ...

human evolution

(Encyclopedia)human evolution, theory of the origins of the human species, Homo sapiens. Modern understanding of human origins is derived largely from the findings of paleontology, anthropology, and genetics, and i...

Lleras Camargo, Alberto

(Encyclopedia)Lleras Camargo, Alberto älbārˈtō lyāˈräs kämärˈgō [key], 1906–90, president of Colombia (1945–46, 1958–62). A journalist, he entered politics as a Liberal, occupying many important go...

Kurile Lake

(Encyclopedia)Kurile Lake, crater lake, 29 sq mi (76 sq km), 130 mi (209 km) SSW of Petropavlovsk, Russia, near the tip of the Kamchatka Peninsula. Located in a rugged volcanic region and lying some 330 ft (100 m) ...

Wappers, Gustave, Baron

(Encyclopedia)Wappers, Gustave, Baron güstävˈ bärôNˈ väpĕrsˈ, väpˈərs [key], 1803–74, Belgian historical and genre painter. For many years director of the Antwerp Academy, he introduced the romantic s...

tyrant

(Encyclopedia)tyrant, in ancient history, ruler who gained power by usurping the legal authority. The word is perhaps of Lydian origin and carried with it no connotation of moral censure. With the growth of the con...

Catlin, George

(Encyclopedia)Catlin, George, 1796–1872, American traveler and artist, b. Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Educated as a lawyer, he practiced in Philadelphia for two years but turned to art study and became a portrait painter i...

Lorraine

(Encyclopedia)Lorraine lôrĕnˈ [key], Ger. Lothringen, former province and former administrative region, NE France, bordering in the N on Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany, in the E on Alsace, in the S on Franche-...