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Floyd, John Buchanan

(Encyclopedia)Floyd, John Buchanan, 1807–63, U.S. Secretary of War (1857–60) and Confederate general, b. Smithfield, Va. After failing as a lawyer and cotton planter in Arkansas, he returned to Virginia and pra...

paraplegia

(Encyclopedia)paraplegia pârˌəplēˈjēə [key], paralysis of the lower part of the body, commonly affecting both legs and often internal organs below the waist. When both legs and arms are affected, the conditi...

marines

(Encyclopedia)marines, troops that serve on board ships of war or in conjunction with naval operation. A British marine corps was established in 1664, and the need for skilled riflemen aboard military vessels broug...

Tunney, Gene

(Encyclopedia)Tunney, Gene (James Joseph Tunney), 1898–1978, American boxer, b. New York City. He began boxing in neighborhood clubs as a youngster. In World War I, he served in the U.S. marines and while in Pari...

Bolton, John Robert

(Encyclopedia)Bolton, John Robert, 1948–, U.S. government official, b. Baltimore, grad Yale (B.A., 1970; J.D., 1974). A conservative Republican who has supported hardline, unilateral approaches to international r...

Quetta

(Encyclopedia)Quetta kwĕˈtə [key], city (1998 pop. 560,307), capital of Baluchistan prov., W central Pakistan, at an altitude of c.5,500 ft (1,675 m), ringed by mountains. Deriving its name from the Pashto word ...

Blair, Tony

(Encyclopedia)Blair, Tony (Anthony Charles Lynton Blair), 1953–, British politician, b. Edinburgh. An Oxford-educated lawyer, he was first elected to Parliament in 1983 as the Labour party candidate from a distri...

Aves Island

(Encyclopedia)Aves Island äˈvĕs [key] or Bird Island, Span. Isla de Aves, small, low-lying sand and coral island, a dependency of Venezuela, in the E Caribbean Sea 380 mi (610 km) N of the Venezuelan mainland. V...

peddler

(Encyclopedia)peddler or hawker, itinerant vendor of small goods. In rural America peddlers carried their packs or drove a horse and cart from door to door. While the importance of peddlers to the small American co...

Pentland Firth

(Encyclopedia)Pentland Firth pĕntˈlənd fûrth [key], channel, 6 to 8 mi (9.7–12.9 km) wide and c.14 mi (23 km) long, N Scotland. Connecting the North Sea with the Atlantic Ocean, it separates the Scottish main...