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Antheil, George

(Encyclopedia)Antheil, George ănˈtīl [key], 1900–1959, American composer, b. Trenton, N.J. He went to Europe in 1920 and became known for his iconoclastic approach to music. In 1927 a performance of his Ballet...

Melun

(Encyclopedia)Melun məlöNˈ [key], town (1990 pop. 36,489), capital of Seine-et-Marne dept., N central France, SE of Paris. It is an important industrial center where automobile bodies, airplane engines, leather ...

Ny-Ålesund

(Encyclopedia)Ny-Ålesund nüˌ-ôˈləso͝on [key] [New Alesund], town, on Kongsfjorden, NW Spitsbergen island, Svalbard, Norway. Established as a coal-mining settlement, it is now a largely seasonal scientific re...

MacCready, Paul Beattie

(Encyclopedia)MacCready, Paul Beattie, 1925–2007, American engineer and inventor known for his achievements in human-powered flight, b. New Haven, Conn., Ph.D. California Institute of Technology, 1952. In 1997 he...

kite, in aviation and recreation

(Encyclopedia)kite, in aviation, aircraft restrained by a towline and deriving its lift from the aerodynamic action of the wind flowing across it. Commonly the kite consists of a light framework upon which paper, s...

plywood

(Encyclopedia)plywood, manufactured board composed of an odd number of thin sheets of wood glued together under pressure with grains of the successive layers at right angles. Laminated wood differs from plywood in ...

Symington, William Stuart

(Encyclopedia)Symington, William Stuart, 1901–88, U.S. senator (1953–76), b. Amherst, Mass. He interrupted a successful business career in 1941 to accept a War Department assignment involving a study of airplan...

seaplane

(Encyclopedia)seaplane, airplane designed to take off from and alight on water. The two most common types are the floatplane, whose fuselage is supported by struts attached to two or more pontoon floats, and the fl...

Sikorski, Władysław

(Encyclopedia)Sikorski, Władysław vlädĭˈswäf shēkôrˈskē [key], 1881–1943, Polish general and politician. He fought in World War I and later (1922–25) held various cabinet posts. Premier Piłsudski dis...

Hess, Rudolf

(Encyclopedia)Hess, Rudolf, 1894–1987, German National Socialist leader, b. Alexandria, Egypt; son of a German merchant. In 1920 he became an ardent follower of Adolf Hitler and after the Munich “beer-hall puts...