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Williams, William Sherley

(Encyclopedia)Williams, William Sherley, 1787–1849, American trader and trapper, known as Old Bill Williams, b. Rutherford co., N.C. Much of his early life was spent in Missouri, where he was a traveling preacher...

sodium sulfate

(Encyclopedia)sodium sulfate, chemical compound, Na2SO4. It is a white, orthorhombic crystalline compound at ordinary temperatures; above 100℃ it assumes a monoclinic structure, and above about 250℃ it assumes ...

Tlaxcala , state, Mexico

(Encyclopedia)Tlaxcala tläskäˈlä [key], state (1990 pop. 761,277), 1,555 sq mi (4,027 sq km), E central Mexico. Tlaxcala is the capital. It is the smallest and one of the most densely populated Mexican states. ...

touch

(Encyclopedia)touch, tactile sensation received by the skin, enabling the organism to detect objects or substances in contact with the body. End organs (nerve endings) in the skin convey the impression to the brain...

Yates, Richard, American fiction writer

(Encyclopedia)Yates, Richard, 1926–92, American fiction writer, b. Yonkers, N.Y. A subtle and painstaking literary craftsman who has often been considered a “writers' writer,” Yates frequently chronicles the ...

sense

(Encyclopedia)sense, faculty by which external or internal stimuli are conveyed to the brain centers, where they are registered as sensations. Sensory reception occurs in higher animals through a process known as t...

Pauling, Linus Carl

(Encyclopedia)Pauling, Linus Carl pôˈlĭng [key], 1901–94, American chemist, b. Portland, Oreg. He was one of the few recipients of two Nobel Prizes, winning the chemistry award in 1954 and the peace prize in 1...

Brezhnev, Leonid Ilyich

(Encyclopedia)Brezhnev, Leonid Ilyich lāyōnēdˈ ĭlyēchˈ brĕzhˈnĕf [key], 1906–82, Soviet leader. He joined (1931) the Communist party and rose steadily in its hierarchy. In 1952 he became a secretary of ...

Karelia

(Encyclopedia)Karelia kərēˈlēə [key], constituent republic (1990 pop. 800,000), 66,409 sq mi (172,300 sq km), NW European Russia, extending from the Finnish border in the west to the White Sea in the east and ...

Castlereagh, Robert Stewart, 2d Viscount

(Encyclopedia)Castlereagh, Robert Stewart, 2d Viscount kăˈsəlrā [key], 1769–1822, British statesman, b. Ireland. Entering the Irish Parliament in 1790 and the British Parliament in 1794, he was acting chief s...