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air, law of the

(Encyclopedia)air, law of the, in the broadest sense, all law connected with the use of the air, including radio and satellite transmissions; more commonly, it refers to laws concerning civil aviation. The developm...

diseases of plants

(Encyclopedia)diseases of plants. Most plant diseases are caused by fungi, bacteria, and viruses. Although the term disease is usually used only for the destruction of live plants, the action of dry rot and the rot...

Organization of Islamic Cooperation

(Encyclopedia)Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), international organization of 57 countries whose inhabitants are mainly Muslim, est. 1969 as the Organization of the Islamic Conference, renamed 2011. It is ...

Organization of African Unity

(Encyclopedia)Organization of African Unity (OAU), former international organization, established 1963 at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, by 37 independent African nations to promote unity and development; defend the sovere...

Hilary of Poitiers, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Hilary of Poitiers, Saint poitērzˈ, poiˈtyā [key], c.315–367?, bishop of Poitiers from c.350, Doctor of the Church. A convert from paganism, he distinguished himself as a supporter of Athanasius...

Hariri, Rafik

(Encyclopedia)Hariri, Rafik or Rafiq räfēkˈ härēˈrē [key], 1944–2005, Lebanese tycoon and political leader, b. Sidon. The son of a poor Sunni Muslim farmer, he moved to Saudi Arabia in 1965. After teaching...

progression

(Encyclopedia)progression, in mathematics, sequence of quantities, called terms, in which the relationship between consecutive terms is the same. An arithmetic progression is a sequence in which each term is derive...

Galileo

(Encyclopedia)Galileo (Galileo Galilei) gălˌĭlēˈō; gälēlĕˈō gälēlĕˈē [key], 1564–1642, great Italian astronomer, mathematician, and physicist. By his persistent investigation of natural laws he la...

Isidore of Seville, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Isidore of Seville, Saint ĭzˈədôrˌ [key], c.560–636, Spanish churchman and encyclopedist, bishop of Seville, Doctor of the Church. Born of a noble Hispano-Roman family from Cartagena, he spent ...

Indian Affairs, Bureau of

(Encyclopedia)Indian Affairs, Bureau of, created (1824) in the U.S. War Dept. and transferred (1849) to the U.S. Dept. of the Interior. The War Dept. managed Native American affairs after 1789, but a separate burea...