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porpoise

(Encyclopedia)porpoise, small whale of the family Phocaenidae, allied to the dolphin. Porpoises, like other whales, are mammals; they are warm-blooded, breathe air, and give birth to live young, which they suckle w...

Owen, Robert Dale

(Encyclopedia)Owen, Robert Dale, 1801–77, American social reformer, b. Scotland; son of Robert Owen. He studied at his father's New Lanark school and in Switzerland. In 1825 he went to New Harmony, Ind. There he ...

Henry, Alexander

(Encyclopedia)Henry, Alexander, two fur traders, uncle and nephew, of the Old Northwest, each of whom left a valuable journal of his travels and experiences. Alexander Henry, the elder, 1739–1824, b. New Brunswic...

Aphrodite

(Encyclopedia)Aphrodite ăfrədīˈtē [key], in Greek religion and mythology, goddess of fertility, love, and beauty. Homer designated her the child of Zeus and Dione. Hesiod's account of her birth is more popular...

Duke, James Buchanan

(Encyclopedia)Duke, James Buchanan, 1856–1925, American industrialist, processor of tobacco products, b. near Durham, N.C. The Civil War left the Duke family poor, but James and his brother, Benjamin, helped thei...

Edward VII

(Encyclopedia)Edward VII (Albert Edward), 1841–1910, king of Great Britain and Ireland (1901–10). The eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, he was created prince of Wales almost immediately after his ...

Haldimand, Sir Frederick

(Encyclopedia)Haldimand, Sir Frederick hôlˈdĭmənd [key], 1718–91, British general and colonial governor of Quebec, b. Neuchâtel canton, Switzerland. A soldier of fortune in several European armies before joi...

killer whale

(Encyclopedia)killer whale, orca, or grampus, a large, rapacious marine mammal of the dolphin family. Historically considered one species, Orcinus orca, killer whales may be classified into several types, based on...

bastard

(Encyclopedia)bastard, person born out of wedlock whose legal status is illegitimacy. In civil law countries and in about half the states of the United States, the union of the parents in marriage after birth makes...

Brunelleschi, Filippo

(Encyclopedia)Brunelleschi, Filippo fēlēpˈpō bro͞onĕl-lĕsˈkē [key], 1377–1446, first great architect of the Italian Renaissance, a Florentine by birth. Trained as sculptor and goldsmith, he designed a tr...