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archil

(Encyclopedia)archil ôrˈ– [key], blue, red, or purple dye extracted from several species of lichen, also called orchella weeds, found in various parts of the world. Commercial archil is either a powder (called ...

Roses, Wars of the

(Encyclopedia)Roses, Wars of the, traditional name given to the intermittent struggle (1455–85) for the throne of England between the noble houses of York (whose badge was a white rose) and Lancaster (later assoc...

Montgomery, L. M.

(Encyclopedia)Montgomery, L. M. (Lucy Maud Montgomery), 1874–1942, Canadian novelist, b. Prince Edward Island. Her first novel, Anne of Green Gables (1908), met with immediate success and has been widely translat...

morocco, type of leather

(Encyclopedia)morocco, goatskin leather, dyed on the grain side and boarded by hand or machine to bring up the grain in a bird's-eye effect. It probably originated with the Arabs in North Africa as an alum-tanned p...

Kyzyl Kum

(Encyclopedia)Kyzyl Kum or Kizil Kum both: kəzŭlˈ ko͞om [key] [Turk.,=red sand], desert, c.115,000 sq mi (297,900 sq km), in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. This vast region SE of the Aral Sea between the Amu Darya ...

Aseb

(Encyclopedia)Aseb or Assab äˈsəb [key], town, Eritrea, on the Red Sea. Ethiopia's most important port before Eritrean independence (1993), it continued, through agreements with Erit...

Royal Canadian Mounted Police

(Encyclopedia)Royal Canadian Mounted Police, constabulary organized (1873) as the Northwest Mounted Police to bring law and order to the Canadian west. In 1920 the name was changed to the present title. The corps, ...

Thompson, William Boyce

(Encyclopedia)Thompson, William Boyce, 1869–1930, American financier, b. Virginia City, Mont. He operated silver and copper mines in Montana and Arizona before moving to New York City. He was (1914–19) a direct...

cosmos

(Encyclopedia)cosmos kŏzˈməs [key], any plant of the tropical American genus Cosmos of the family Asteraceae (aster family). C. bipinnatus, of Mexico, and others are cultivated in many varieties for their showy ...

Cleopatra's Needles

(Encyclopedia)Cleopatra's Needles, name in popular use for two obelisks of red granite from Egypt. Originally erected at Heliopolis (c.1475 b.c.) by Thutmose III, they were transported to Alexandria (c.14 b.c.) und...