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dimension, in mathematics

(Encyclopedia)dimension, in mathematics, number of parameters or coordinates required locally to describe points in a mathematical object (usually geometric in character). For example, the space we inhabit is three...

Valois, royal house of France

(Encyclopedia)Valois välwäˈ [key], royal house of France that ruled from 1328 to 1589. At the death of Charles IV, the last of the direct Capetians, the Valois dynasty came to the throne in the person of Philip ...

Zeno of Elea

(Encyclopedia)Zeno of Elea ēˈlēə [key], c.490–c.430 b.c., Greek philosopher of the Eleatic school. He undertook to support in his only known work, fragments of which are extant, the doctrine of Parmenides by ...

Lowndes, Rawlins

(Encyclopedia)Lowndes, Rawlins loundz [key], 1721–1800, president of South Carolina (1778–79), b. St. Kitts. In 1730 his family moved to Charleston, S.C., where Lowndes later became a noted lawyer. In the colon...

Muzaffar ad-Din

(Encyclopedia)Muzaffar ad-Din mo͞ozäf-färˈ äd-dēnˈ [key], 1853–1907, shah of Persia (1896–1907), son of Nasir ad-Din. A weak ruler, he borrowed money from Russia and failed to oppose the encroachments of...

Belmopan

(Encyclopedia)Belmopan bĕlˌmōpänˈ [key], city (1993 est. pop. 3,900), E Belize, capital of Belize. A new city, it was constructed on the Belize R., 50 mi (80 km) inland from the former capital of then British ...

Chinchilla Miranda, Laura

(Encyclopedia)Chinchilla Miranda, Laura, 1959–, Costa Rican politian, president of Costa Rica (2010–). Before entering politics she worked as a consultant for international agencies in Latin America and Africa....

Fitch, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Fitch, Thomas, c.1700–1774, colonial governor of Connecticut, b. Norwalk, Conn. A lawyer, Fitch was an assistant in the colony (1734–35, 1740–50). The assembly elected him deputy governor in 175...

Althing

(Encyclopedia)Althing älˈthĭng [key] [Icel.,=general diet], parliament of Iceland. This assembly, the oldest in Europe, was convened at Thingvellir, SW Iceland, in 930. It was dissolved in 1800, was revived as a...

Ayutla

(Encyclopedia)Ayutla äyo͞otˈlä [key], town, Guerrero state, S Mexico. Its full name is Ayutla de los Libres [Ayutla of the free]. It is the commercial center for an agricultural, ca...