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Torrijos Herrera, Omar

(Encyclopedia)Torrijos Herrera, Omar ōmärˈ tōrēˈhōs ārāˈrä [key], 1929–81, military leader, dictator of Panama (1968–78). As a lieutenant colonel, he led, together with Col. Boris Martínez, the coup...

Southcott, Joanna

(Encyclopedia)Southcott, Joanna southˈkət [key], 1750–1814, English religious visionary. Uneducated, even illiterate, she spent her earlier years in domestic service. She began c.1792 to claim the gift of proph...

Seymour, Jane

(Encyclopedia)Seymour, Jane, 1509?–1537, third queen consort of Henry VIII of England. She served as a lady in waiting to both of Henry's first two queens, Katharine of Aragón and Anne Boleyn. Henry became inter...

Sheen, Fulton John

(Encyclopedia)Sheen, Fulton John, 1895–1979, American Roman Catholic clergyman, b. El Paso, Ill., grad. St. Viator College, Bourbonnais, Ill. (B.A., 1917; M.A., 1919). He studied at the Catholic Univ. of America ...

phthalates

(Encyclopedia)phthalates, family of chemical compounds made from alcohols and phthalic anhydride, C6H4(CO)2O. Oily, colorless, odorless liquids that do not evaporate readily, they are used primarily to make polyvin...

mental retardation

(Encyclopedia)mental retardation, below average level of intellectual functioning, usually defined by an IQ of below 70 to 75, combined with limitations in the skills necessary for daily living. Daily living skills...

embryo screening

(Encyclopedia)embryo screening, procedure (see genetic testing) in which a single cell is removed from an embryo two or three days after it has been conceived through in vitro fertilization and tested for genetic a...

Munch, Edvard

(Encyclopedia)Munch, Edvard ĕdˈvärt mo͝ongk [key], 1863–1944, Norwegian painter and graphic artist. He studied in Oslo and under Bonnat in Paris, traveled in Europe, and lived in Berlin from 1892 to 1908. He ...

Djerassi, Carl

(Encyclopedia)Djerassi, Carl jərăsˈē [key], 1929–2015, American organic chemist and educator, b. Vienna, Austria. He received his Ph.D. from the Univ. of Wisconsin (1945) and taught at Stanford Univ. from 195...

dower

(Encyclopedia)dower, that portion of a deceased husband's real property that a widow is legally entitled to use during her lifetime to support herself and their children. A wife may claim the dower if her husband d...