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Davidson, Donald Herbert

(Encyclopedia)Davidson, Donald Herbert, 1917–2003, American philosopher, b. Springfield, Mass., grad. Harvard (B.A., 1939; Ph.D., 1949). A student of W. V. Quine, Davidson emerged as one of the major figures in p...

Devils Tower National Monument

(Encyclopedia)Devils Tower National Monument, 1,347 acres (546 hectares), overlooking the Belle Fourche River, NE Wyo.; it was the first designated U.S. national monument (1906). Devils Tower, 865 ft (264 m) high a...

Feuerbach, Ludwig Andreas

(Encyclopedia)Feuerbach, Ludwig Andreas foiˈərbäkh [key], 1804–72, German philosopher, educated at Heidelberg and Berlin; son of Paul Johann Anselm von Feuerbach. At first a Hegelian, he abandoned absolute id...

Englert, François

(Encyclopedia)Englert, François, 1932–, Belgian theoretical physicist, Ph.D. Université libre de Bruxelles (U.L.B.), Brussels, 1959. He has been a professor at U.L.B. since 1964. Englert was the recipient, join...

gravel

(Encyclopedia)gravel, particles of rock, i.e., stones and pebbles, usually round in form and intermediate in size between sand grains and boulders. Gravel is composed of various kinds of rock, the most common const...

trunkfish

(Encyclopedia)trunkfish, any member of a family of fishes, Ostraciidae, also called boxfishes, that have short triangular bodies covered by firmly united hexagonal bony plates. Only the jaw, the bases of the fins, ...

Proclus

(Encyclopedia)Proclus prōˈkləs [key], 410?–485, Neoplatonic philosopher, b. Constantinople. He studied at Alexandria and at Athens, where he was a pupil of the Platonist Syrianus, whom he succeeded as a teache...

Freedom of Information Act

(Encyclopedia)Freedom of Information Act (1966), law requiring that U.S. government agencies release their records to the public on request, unless the information sought falls into a category specifically exempted...

hydrogen sulfide

(Encyclopedia)hydrogen sulfide, chemical compound, H2S, a colorless, extremely poisonous gas that has a very disagreeable odor, much like that of rotten eggs. It is slightly soluble in water and is soluble in carbo...

Ibn Gabirol, Solomon ben Judah

(Encyclopedia)Ibn Gabirol, Solomon ben Judah ĭˈbən gäbēˈrôl [key], c.1021–1058, Jewish poet and philosopher, known also as Avicebron, b. Malaga. His secular poetry deals partly with nature and love, but mo...