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Tskhinvali

(Encyclopedia)Tskhinvali tskhĭnˈvälĭ [key], city (1989 pop. 42,934), capital of South Ossetia, a region of N Georgia that has had de facto independence since the 1990s. The city has lumber mills and electrical ...

Flüe, Nicholas von der, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Flüe, Nicholas von der, Saint fən dĕr flüˈə [key], 1417–87, Swiss patriot and folk hero. He was leader of the cantonal forces fighting Austria and counselor for many years to the duke of Saxon...

Hollins, George Nichols

(Encyclopedia)Hollins, George Nichols, 1799–1878, American naval officer, b. Baltimore. His active career spanned the years from the War of 1812, in which he served under Decatur, to the end of the Civil War, in ...

Howard, Leland Ossian

(Encyclopedia)Howard, Leland Ossian, 1857–1950, American entomologist, b. Rockford, Ill., grad. Cornell (B.S., 1877), Ph.D. Georgetown Univ., 1896. Associated with the U.S. Bureau of Entomology from 1878 (as its ...

Péronne

(Encyclopedia)Péronne pārônˈ [key], town (1993 est. pop. 9,200), Somme dept., N France, in Picardy, on the Somme River. It is a farm trade center, and its manufactures include wool, bricks, furniture, and plast...

Nerval, Gérard de

(Encyclopedia)Nerval, Gérard de zhārärˈ də nĕrvälˈ [key], 1808–55, French writer, an early romantic. His real name was Gérard Labrunie. His writings include translations of Faust (1828) and other German ...

Maybeck, Bernard

(Encyclopedia)Maybeck, Bernard, 1862–1957, American architect, b. New York City. After studying at the École des Beaux-Arts, Paris, he became one of the leading architects in California. From the 1890s to the 19...

shipwreck

(Encyclopedia)shipwreck, complete or partial destruction of a vessel as a result of collision, fire, grounding, storm, explosion, or other mishap. In the ancient world sea travel was hazardous, but in modern times ...

Tyne and Wear

(Encyclopedia)Tyne and Wear, former metropolitan county, NE England. Created in the 1974 local government reorganization, the county embraced the Newcastle upon Tyne conurbation and comprised five metropolitan dist...

polychlorinated biphenyl

(Encyclopedia)polychlorinated biphenyl or PCB, any of a group of organic compounds originally widely used in industrial processes but later found to be dangerous environmental pollutants. Polychlorinated biphenyl i...