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Fairfax of Cameron, Thomas Fairfax, 6th Baron

(Encyclopedia)Fairfax of Cameron, Thomas Fairfax, 6th Baron, 1693–1781, proprietor of the Northern Neck of Virginia, b. England. He inherited the Northern Neck, comprising the land between the Rappahannock and Po...

ostracism

(Encyclopedia)ostracism ŏsˈtrəsĭzˌəm [key], ancient Athenian method of banishing a public figure. It was introduced after the fall of the family of Pisistratus. Each year the assembly took a preliminary vote ...

Anthony, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Anthony, Saint ănˈtənē, ănˈthənē [key], 251?–c.350, Egyptian hermit, called St. Anthony of Egypt and St. Anthony the Abbot. At the age of 20 he gave away his large inheritance and became a h...

Dust Bowl

(Encyclopedia)Dust Bowl, the name given to areas of the U.S. prairie states that suffered ecological devastation in the 1930s and then to a lesser extent in the mid-1950s. The problem began during World War I, when...

Suárez González, Adolfo

(Encyclopedia)Suárez González, Adolfo ädôlˈfō swäˈrāth gōnthäˈlĕth [key], 1932–2014, Spanish lawyer and political leader. Because he had worked in the Nationalist Movement (the Falange) for 18 years ...

Phlegraean Fields

(Encyclopedia)Phlegraean Fields flĭgrēˈən [key], Ital. Campi Flegrei, fertile volcanic region, Campania, S Italy, along the Tyrrhenian Sea between Pozzuoli and Naples. It is named for ancient Phlegra, in Macedo...

X-ray crystallography

(Encyclopedia)X-ray crystallography, the study of crystal structures through X-ray diffraction techniques. When an X-ray beam bombards a crystalline lattice in a given orientation, the beam is scattered in a defini...

Cardoso, Fernando Henrique

(Encyclopedia)Cardoso, Fernando Henrique fərnäNˈdo͞o ānrēˈkə kärdōˈso͞o [key], 1931–, Brazilian sociologist and politician, president of Brazil (1995–2002), b. Rio de Janeiro. Originally a sociology...

Carver, Jonathan

(Encyclopedia)Carver, Jonathan, 1710–80, American explorer, b. Weymouth, Mass. He served in the French and Indian War and in 1766 was hired by Robert Rogers to undertake a journey to some of the Western tribes. H...

turtle

(Encyclopedia)turtle, a reptile of the order Chelonia, with strong, beaked, toothless jaws and, usually, an armorlike shell. The shell normally consists of bony plates overlaid with horny shields. The upper portion...