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Brodie, Steve

(Encyclopedia)Brodie, Steve, 1863–1901, Brooklyn bookmaker who gained immediate fame and a measure of immortality by allegedly jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge and surviving the fall, on July 23, 1886. It was clai...

Alexander II, czar of Russia

(Encyclopedia)Alexander II, 1818–81, czar of Russia (1855–81), son and successor of Nicholas I. He ascended the throne during the Crimean War (1853–56) and immediately set about negotiating a peace (see Paris...

Fizeau, Armand Hippolyte Louis

(Encyclopedia)Fizeau, Armand Hippolyte Louis ärmäNˈ ēpôlētˈ lwē fēzōˈ [key], 1819–96, French physicist. The first to measure (1849) the velocity of light in air, he also determined its speed in water. ...

Menominee, indigenous people of North America

(Encyclopedia)Menominee mənŏmˈənē [key], indigenous people of North America whose language belongs to the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). Also cal...

Ångström, Anders Jöns

(Encyclopedia)Ångström, Anders Jöns änˈdərs yöns ōngˈström [key], 1814–74, Swedish physicist. He was educated at the Univ. of Uppsala and in 1839 became a member of its faculty. He is particularly noted...

Dingley, Nelson

(Encyclopedia)Dingley, Nelson dĭngˈlē [key], 1832–99, U.S. congressman (1881–99), b. Durham, Maine. For many years the editor of the Lewiston (Maine) Journal, he was also a state official, serving as governo...

Georgetown, cities, United States

(Encyclopedia)Georgetown. 1 Town (2020 pop. 37,086), Scott co., N central Ky., in the bluegrass country; settled 1776, inc. 1790. In a rich agricultural, ...

Davao

(Encyclopedia)Davao dävouˈ [key], city, Davao del Sur prov., SE Mindanao, the Philippines, at the mouth o...

table tennis

(Encyclopedia)table tennis, game played, usually indoors, by two or four players; it is more or less a miniature form of lawn tennis. It is also called Ping-Pong, after the trade name that a manufacturer adopted (c...

Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act

(Encyclopedia)Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act, officially the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, U.S. budget deficit reduction measure. The law provided for automatic spending cuts to take effect ...