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Heilongjiang

(Encyclopedia)Heilongjiang or Heilungkiang both: hāˈlo͝ongˈjyängˈ [key] [Chin.,=black dragon rive...

Cumberland Gap

(Encyclopedia)Cumberland Gap, natural passage through the Cumberland Mts., near the point where Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee meet. The gap was formed by the erosive action of a stream that once flowed there. I...

globe

(Encyclopedia)globe, spherical map of the earth (terrestrial globe) or the sky (celestial globe). The terrestrial globe provides the only graphic representation of the areas of the earth without significant distort...

Golden Legend, The

(Encyclopedia)Golden Legend, The, collection of saints' lives written in the 13th cent. by Jacobus da Varagine. Originally entitled Legenda sanctorum [readings in the lives of the saints], it soon came to be called...

Bokassa, Jean-Bédel

(Encyclopedia)Bokassa, Jean-Bédel zhäN-bĕdĕlˈ bōkäsˈsä [key], 1921–96, president of Central African Republic (1966–79). He served (1939–61) in the French army, then organized his country's army, beco...

Li Dazhao

(Encyclopedia)Li Dazhao lē dä-jou [key], 1888–1927, professor of history and librarian at Beijing Univ., cofounder of the Chinese Communist party with Chen Duxiu. He was the first important Chinese intellectual...

Merezhkovsky, Dmitri Sergeyevich

(Encyclopedia)Merezhkovsky, Dmitri Sergeyevich dəmēˈtrē syĭrgāˈyəvĭch mârĭshkôfˈskē [key], 1865–1941, Russian critic and novelist. His principal critical study is Tolstoi as Man and Artist; with an ...

digital-to-analog conversion

(Encyclopedia)digital-to-analog or D/A conversion, the process of changing discrete digital data into a continuously varying signal in relation to a standard or reference. There are two types of converters: electro...

Filson, John

(Encyclopedia)Filson, John, c.1753–1788, Kentucky pioneer, b. Chester co., Pa. In 1783 he acquired land in Kentucky, taught school, and wrote Discovery, Settlement, and Present State of Kentucke (1784). This firs...

Beira, former province, Portugal

(Encyclopedia)Beira bāˈrə [key], region and former province, N central Portugal, S of the Douro River. The old capital was Coimbra. The province extended to the Atlantic coast between the Douro and the Mondego a...