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Amundsen, Roald

(Encyclopedia)Amundsen, Roald (Roald Engelbregt Grauning Amundsen) rōˈäl äˈmo͝onsən [key], 1872–1928, Norwegian polar explorer; the first person to reach the South Pole. He served (1897–99) as first mate...

Sikorsky, Igor Ivanovich

(Encyclopedia)Sikorsky, Igor Ivanovich sĭkôrˈskē [key], 1889–1972, American aeronautical engineer, b. Kiev, Russia. He immigrated to the United States in 1919 and was naturalized in 1928. Sikorsky built and f...

Tyrconnel, Rory O'Donnell, earl of

(Encyclopedia)Tyrconnel, Rory O'Donnell, earl of, 1575–1608, Irish chieftain; brother of Hugh Roe O'Donnell, lord of Tyrconnel, whom he succeeded as chief of the clan in 1602. After the rebellion in which his bro...

Rawlings, Jerry John

(Encyclopedia)Rawlings, Jerry John (Jeremiah John Rawlings), 1947–2020, Ghanaian political leader. Of Scottish and Ghanaian descent, Rawlings attended military schools throughout his early life, becoming a skille...

Belleville, cities, United States

(Encyclopedia)Belleville. 1 City (2020 pop. 42,404), seat of St. Clair co., SW Ill.; inc. 1819. Located in a coal-mining area, Belleville also has farm-related ...

Yost, Ed

(Encyclopedia)Yost, Ed (Paul Edward Yost), 1919–2007, American balloonist, b. Bristow, Iowa, grad. Boeing School of Aeronautics, 1940. The father of modern hot-air ballooning, Yost pioneered the used of propane (...

astronaut

(Encyclopedia)astronaut, crew member on a U.S. manned spaceflight mission; the Soviet term is cosmonaut. Candidates for manned spaceflight are carefully screened to meet the highest physical and mental standards, a...

goatsucker

(Encyclopedia)goatsucker, common name for nocturnal or crepuscular birds of the order Caprimulgiformes, which includes the frogmouth, the oilbird, potoos, and nightjars. Goatsuckers are medium in size and are found...

weather balloon

(Encyclopedia)weather balloon, balloon used in the measurement and evaluation of mostly upper atmospheric conditions (see atmosphere). Information may be gathered during the vertical ascent of the balloon through t...

Lin Yutang

(Encyclopedia)Lin Yutang lĭn yüˈtängˈ [key], 1895–1976, Chinese-American writer, translator, and editor, b. Lunqi, Fujian, educated in China and at Harvard, Ph.D. Univ. of Leipzig, 1923. Lin spent most of hi...