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Tompion, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Tompion, Thomas, 1639?–1713, English clockmaker. When the Royal Observatory at Greenwich was established in 1676, Tompion was chosen to make two clocks, to be wound only once a year, which proved to...

Ratdolt, Erhard

(Encyclopedia)Ratdolt, Erhard ĕrˈhärt räˈtôlt [key], 1442–1528, printer in Venice from 1476 to 1486 and in Augsburg from 1487 to 1522. A sheet showing specimens of his sizes and designs of type, dated 1486,...

Rathlin Island

(Encyclopedia)Rathlin Island răthˈlĭn [key], 5 sq mi (13 sq km), Moyle dist., N Northern Ireland. Its cliffs, of limestone and basalt, rise at Slieveacarn to 449 ft (137 m). Farming and fishing are important. St...

omen

(Encyclopedia)omen, sign or augury believed to foreshadow the future. Almost any occurrence can be interpreted as an omen. The typical omen was a natural phenomenon, such as a meteor, an eclipse, or the flight of b...

Brainerd

(Encyclopedia)Brainerd brāˈnərd [key], city (2020 pop. 14,395), seat of Crow Wing co., central Minn., on ...

Solihull

(Encyclopedia)Solihull sōlĭhŭlˈ [key], metropolitan borough (1991 pop. 195,100), central England, mainly a residential suburb of Birmingham. Automobiles, chemicals, and tools are manufactured. The 13th-century ...

Bryan

(Encyclopedia)Bryan, city (2020 pop. 83,980), seat of Brazos co., E central Tex.; inc. 1872. Settled in the early 19th cent. in an area of large plantations, Bryan wa...

Buffet, Bernard

(Encyclopedia)Buffet, Bernard bĕrnärˈ büfāˈ [key], 1928–99, French painter. Buffet's melancholy paintings are characterized by prominent black outlining and grayed, muddied colors. The subjects of his many ...

blowgun

(Encyclopedia)blowgun, hollow tube from which a dart or an arrow is blown by a person's breath. The arrow was usually tipped with a poison, such as curare, which would stun or kill the struck prey. Blowguns were wi...

Australian languages

(Encyclopedia)Australian languages, aboriginal languages spoken on the continent of Australia. The Australian languages do not appear to be related to any other linguistic family. The exact number of these language...