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Grange, Red

(Encyclopedia)Grange, Red (Harold Edward Grange), 1903–91, American football player, b. Forksville, Pa. Grange was All-America halfback at the Univ. of Illinois (1923–25). After a spectacular college career in ...

fireball

(Encyclopedia)fireball, very bright meteor leaving a trail in the sky that can remain visible for several minutes; often a distinct sound, perhaps caused by very low frequency radio waves, is associated with it. A ...

Sarapul

(Encyclopedia)Sarapul səräˈpo͞ol [key], city (1989 pop. 110,000), E European Russia, in the Udmurt Republic, on the Kama River. It is a rail junction on the Moscow-Yekaterinburg line. Industries include food pr...

Thomas, John Charles

(Encyclopedia)Thomas, John Charles, 1891–1960, American baritone, b. Meyersdale, Pa., studied at the Peabody Conservatory, Baltimore. After a successful career in musical comedy he made his operatic debut in Wash...

Carson, Johnny

(Encyclopedia)Carson, Johnny, 1925–2005, American television entertainer, b. Corning, Iowa. Carson, who grew up in Nebraska, began his career as a magician, then wrote comedy sketches for radio and hosted daytime...

Menzel, Donald Howard

(Encyclopedia)Menzel, Donald Howard, 1901–76, American astrophysicist, b. Florence, Colo. From 1926 to 1932 he was with the Lick Observatory in Calif. In 1932 he joined the faculty at Harvard, where he became pro...

Dean, Jerome Herman

(Encyclopedia)Dean, Jerome Herman (Dizzy Dean), 1911–74, American baseball player, b. Lucas, Ark. His name was originally Jay Hanna Dean. A colorful right-handed pitcher, Dean performed brilliantly (1930–37) fo...

National Science Foundation

(Encyclopedia)National Science Foundation (NSF), an independent agency in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government concerned with promoting a national science policy by supporting basic research and educ...

Brice, Fanny

(Encyclopedia)Brice, Fanny or Fannie, 1891–1951, American comedienne, b. New York City as Fanny Borach. Brice appeared in burlesque and vaudeville from 1906. She starred in the Ziegfeld “Follies” from 1910 on...

navigation

(Encyclopedia)navigation, science and technology of finding the position and directing the course of vessels and aircraft. The next great revolution in navigation occurred in the 20th cent., when radio signals ...