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iron lung

(Encyclopedia)iron lung, device used to maintain artificial respiration over an extended period of time. Before the successful vaccination program against poliomyelitis, it was used mostly in treatment of that dise...

Arad, city, Romania

(Encyclopedia)Arad ärädˈ [key], city, W Romania, in the Banat, on the Mureşul River, near the Hungarian border. It is an important railroad junction and a leading regional commercia...

Cormack, Allan MacLeod

(Encyclopedia)Cormack, Allan MacLeod məkloudˈ, côrˈmək [key], 1924–98, American physicist, b. Johannesburg, South Africa. After studying at the Univ. of Cape Town (B.S. physics, 1944, M.S. crystallography, 1...

Fécamp

(Encyclopedia)Fécamp fākäNˈ [key], town, Seine-Maritime dept., N France. A major port from the 12th to ...

Pogodin, Nikolai

(Encyclopedia)Pogodin, Nikolai fyôˈdərəvĭch sto͞okäˈlôf [key], 1900–1962, Russian dramatist. Pogodin wrote many colorful, optimistic, and popular plays generally dealing with the theme of man's conquest ...

banner system

(Encyclopedia)banner system, Manchu conscription system. Companies of Manchu warriors were grouped (1601) into brigades, each with a distinctive banner. The banner system integrated former tribal units into a burea...

Ryazan

(Encyclopedia)Ryazan ryəzänˈyə [key], city (1989 pop. 515,000), capital of Ryazan region, E central European Russia, on the Oka River. Industries include oil refining, lignite processing, and the manufacture of...

Saratov

(Encyclopedia)Saratov səräˈtəf [key], city (1991 est. pop. 910,000), capital of Saratov region, E European Russia, on the Volga River. It is a major industrial, transportation, and cultural center of the lower ...

Quay, Matthew Stanley

(Encyclopedia)Quay, Matthew Stanley kwā [key], 1833–1904, American political leader, b. Dillsburg, Pa. He studied law in Pittsburgh and was admitted (1854) to the bar. He fought in the Civil War, and after the w...

pageant

(Encyclopedia)pageant, modern dramatic spectacle or procession celebrating a special occasion or an event in the history of a locality. In medieval times the word pageant had meant the wagon or the movable stage on...