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Simpson-Miller, Portia

(Encyclopedia)Simpson-Miller, Portia, 1945–, Jamaican political leader, prime minister of Jamaica (2006–7, 2012–16). A member of the People's National party (PNP), she was first elected to parliament in 1976....

Gettysburg Address

(Encyclopedia)Gettysburg Address, speech delivered by Abraham Lincoln on Nov. 19, 1863, at the dedication of the national cemetery on the Civil War battlefield of Gettysburg, Pa. It is one of the most famous and mo...

marsupial

(Encyclopedia)marsupial märso͞oˈpēəl [key], member of the order Marsupialia, or pouched mammals. With the exception of the New World opossums and an obscure S American family (Caenolestidae), marsupials are no...

herbicide

(Encyclopedia)herbicide hrˈbəsīdˌ [key], chemical compound that kills plants or inhibits their normal growth. A herbicide in a particular formulation and application can be described as selective or nonselectiv...

Winooski

(Encyclopedia)Winooski, river, 90 mi (145 km) long, rising in NE Vermont and flowing southwest, then northwest, across the state, passing Montpelier and Waterbury and entering Lake Champlain near Burlington and Win...

Dorfman, Ariel

(Encyclopedia)Dorfman, Ariel äryĕlˈ dôrfˈmän [key], 1942–, Chilean novelist, playwright, essayist, and journalist, b. Argentina. Dorfman's family moved to the United States shortly after his birth, settling...

Hemings, Sally

(Encyclopedia)Hemings, Sally, 1773–1835, African-American slave owned by Thomas Jefferson, b. Charles City co., Va.; her original name was probably Sarah. Her father was John Wayles, Jefferson's father-in-law; he...

Hatta, Mohammad

(Encyclopedia)Hatta, Mohammad hătˈə [key], 1902–80, Indonesian political leader. He was born on Sumatra into an aristocratic family. Interested in economics, he went to the Netherlands to study. There he joine...

Gish, Lillian

(Encyclopedia)Gish, Lillian, 1896–1993, American stage and movie actress, b. Springfield, Ohio. In 1912 she began her film career with D. W. Griffith. A fragile, delicate beauty, Gish often played a heroine rescu...

Gaucher's disease

(Encyclopedia)Gaucher's disease gōshāzˈ [key], rare genetic disease involving a deficiency of an enzyme, glucocerebrosidase, which normally breaks down certain body glycolipids (i.e., lipids (fats) that have a s...