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Gerlache, Adrien de

(Encyclopedia)Gerlache, Adrien de ädrē-ăN də gĕrläshˈ [key], 1866–1934, Belgian naval officer and explorer. Sailing with Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen who would later be the first to reach the South Po...

Ferrer, José Vicente

(Encyclopedia)Ferrer, José Vicente hōsāˈ vēsānˈtā fərârˈ [key], 1912–92, American actor, director, and producer, b. Santurce, Puerto Rico. Ferrer made his debut in 1935 and in 1940 gained acclaim in Ch...

Blackbeard

(Encyclopedia)Blackbeard, d. 1718, English pirate. His name was probably Edward Teach, Thatch, or Thach. He probably began as a privateer in the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–14), then turned pirate. In 171...

Curaçao

(Encyclopedia)Curaçao kyo͝oˈrəsō, ko͞oräsouˈ [key], island (2015 est. pop. 158,000), 178 sq mi (461 sq km), an autonomous country in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located in the Lesser Antilles off the co...

Murner, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Murner, Thomas tōˈmäs mo͝orˈnər [key], 1475–1537, German satirist and Franciscan monk, b. Strasbourg. He was the most scurrilous writer of his time and spared almost no one in his satire. He a...

Narayanganj

(Encyclopedia)Narayanganj or Narayungunj both: näräˈyəngənj [key], city (1991 pop. 296,000), E central Bangladesh, at the confluence of the Lakhya and Dhaleshwari rivers. It is the river port for Dhaka and Ban...

chronometer

(Encyclopedia)chronometer krənŏmˈətər [key], instrument for keeping highly accurate time, used especially in navigation. Before the advent of radio time signals it was the only device that provided the time ac...

direction finder

(Encyclopedia)direction finder, electronic device used to determine the position of a ship or aircraft. In a simple direction finder a radio receiver is equipped with a revolving directional antenna. The antenna re...

Harwich

(Encyclopedia)Harwich hărˈĭj [key], town, Essex, E central England, on the estuary of the Stour and the ...

Penetanguishene

(Encyclopedia)Penetanguishene pĕnˌətăngˌgəshēnˈ, –gwəshēnˈ [key], town (1991 pop. 6,643), S Ont., Canada, on Penetanguishene Bay, an inlet of Georgian Bay. The name is a Native American word for “whi...