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Mekong

(Encyclopedia)Mekong māˈkŏng, mēˈ– [key], Chinese Lancang, one of the great rivers of SE Asia, c.2,600 mi (4,180 km) long. From its marshy source (definitively identified in 1994) on the Rup-sa Pass in the h...

Anderson, Marian

(Encyclopedia)Anderson, Marian, 1897–1993, American contralto, b. Philadelphia. She was the first African American to be named a permanent member of the Metropolitan Opera Company, as well as the first to perform...

Levitt, William Jaird

(Encyclopedia)Levitt, William Jaird lĕvˈət [key], 1907–94, American builder, b. Brooklyn, N.Y. After studying at New York Univ., he (and his brother) joined his father's construction company; it became (1929) ...

Leclerc, Jacques Philippe

(Encyclopedia)Leclerc, Jacques Philippe ləklĕrˈ [key], 1902–47, French general. His real name was Philippe, vicomte de Hauteclocque, but he adopted the name Leclerc in World War II. Commanding the Free French...

Rankin, Jeannette

(Encyclopedia)Rankin, Jeannette, 1880–1973, American pacifist, b. Missoula, Mont. She was active in social work and campaigned for woman suffrage. A Republican, she was the first woman in the United States to ser...

recoilless rifle

(Encyclopedia)recoilless rifle, light artillery piece, without recoil, usually operated by two men. An American invention, it was used as an infantry weapon for attacking fortifications such as pillboxes and bunker...

Dooley, Thomas Anthony

(Encyclopedia)Dooley, Thomas Anthony, 1927–61, American physician and author, b. St. Louis, Mo., grad. Univ. of Notre Dame, M.D. St. Louis Univ., 1953. In 1954, Dooley supervised the care and treatment of thousan...

Heldai

(Encyclopedia)Heldai hĕlˈdāī [key], in the Bible. 1 See Heleb. 2 Man who was to have a memorial in the temple. An alternate form is Helem. ...

Gorky, suburb of Moscow, Russia

(Encyclopedia)Gorky lyĕˈnyĭnskəyə [key], suburb of Moscow, central European Russia. The country home of Lenin, who died there, is now a memorial museum. ...

Belleau Wood

(Encyclopedia)Belleau Wood bĕlˈō, bĕlōˈ [key], forested area in Aisne dept., N France, E of Château-Thierry. The scene of a victory over the Germans after hard fighting (June 6–25, 1918), involving chiefly...