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South Seas

(Encyclopedia)South Seas, name given by early explorers to the whole of the Pacific Ocean. In recent times the name has been used to mean only the central Pacific, the S Pacific, and the SW Pacific. More particular...

Philemon, ancient Greek poet

(Encyclopedia)Philemon fīlēˈmən [key], c.360–c.265 b.c., Greek poet of the New Comedy. He was in ancient times considered second only to Menander. Fragments of his plays, originally numbering 97, survive. ...

Ali, Muhammad

(Encyclopedia)Ali, Muhammad məhămˈəd älēˈ [key], 1942–2016, American boxer, b. Louisville, Ky. Born Cassius Marcellus Clay, he was a 1960 Olympic gold medalist. Shortly after upsetting Sonny Liston in 1964...

Fabius

(Encyclopedia)Fabius fāˈbēəs [key], ancient Roman gens. The family was most distinguished from the 5th cent. b.c. onward. However, little is known of the early members. Quintus Fabius Vibulanus, fl. 450 b.c., w...

sugarcane

(Encyclopedia)sugarcane, tall tropical perennials (species of Saccharum, chiefly S. officinarum) of the family Poaceae (grass family), probably cultivated in their native Asia from prehistoric times. Sugarcane some...

Marble, Alice

(Encyclopedia)Marble, Alice, 1913–90, American tennis player, b. Plumas co., Calif. She began playing tennis at the age of 15, and after 1931 she rose rapidly in national tennis rankings. She four times took the ...

Samosata

(Encyclopedia)Samosata səmŏsˈətə [key], ancient city of N Syria, on the Euphrates. It was founded c.150 b.c. as the capital of the Commagene kingdom. Taken by the Romans in a.d. 72, it was of some importance i...

Bartlett, John

(Encyclopedia)Bartlett, John, 1820–1905, American compiler and publisher, b. Plymouth, Mass. While he worked in his university book store in Cambridge, he compiled the invaluable Familiar Quotations (1855), which...

Clarke, Walter

(Encyclopedia)Clarke, Walter, c.1638–1714, colonial governor of Rhode Island, b. Newport, R.I. He was deputy governor (1679–86, 1700–1714) and was three times governor (1676–77, 1686, 1696–98) of Rhode Is...

Anatahan

(Encyclopedia)Anatahan, uninhabited volcanic island, 12.5 sq mi (32 sq km), Saipan dist., Northern Mariana Islands, in the W Pacific Ocean some 85 mi (140 km) N of Saipan. The island is dominated by two overlapping...