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Duvalier, Jean-Claude

(Encyclopedia)Duvalier, Jean-Claude düvälyāˈ [key], 1951–2014, president of Haiti (1971–86). At age 19, he was proclaimed “president for life” upon the death of his father, Francois Duvalier. Under gre...

Eagleton, Thomas Francis

(Encyclopedia)Eagleton, Thomas Francis, 1929–2007, U.S. senator (1968–87), b. St. Louis, Mo. Admitted to the bar in 1953, he entered Democratic politics in Missouri and served as circuit attorney for St. Louis ...

speedometer

(Encyclopedia)speedometer, instrument that indicates speed. A cable from an automotive speedometer is attached to the rear of the transmission of an automobile; the cable turns at a rate proportional to the speed o...

Windischgrätz, Alfred, Fürst zu

(Encyclopedia)Windischgrätz or Windisch-Grätz, Alfred, Fürst zu älˈfrāt fürst tso͞o vĭnˈdĭshgrĕtsˈ [key], 1787–1862, Austrian field marshal. He was military governor of Bohemia when the revolutions o...

Zemurray, Samuel

(Encyclopedia)Zemurray, Samuel, 1877–1961, American business executive, b. Russia as Schmuel Zmuri; he Americanized his name early in the 20th cent. His nearly penniless family emigrated in 1891 and soon settled ...

Canyonlands National Park

(Encyclopedia)Canyonlands National Park, 337,598 acres (136,679 hectares), SE Utah; est. 1964. Located in a desert region, the park contains a maze of deep canyons and many unusual features carved by wind and water...

casting

(Encyclopedia)casting or founding, shaping of metal by melting and pouring into a mold. Most castings, especially large ones, are made in sand molds. Sand, mixed with a binder to hold it together, is pressed around...

catapult

(Encyclopedia)catapult kătˈəpŭltˌ [key], mechanism used to throw missiles in ancient and medieval warfare. At first, catapults were specifically designed to shoot spears or other missiles at a low trajectory (...

aerogel

(Encyclopedia)aerogel, any of a group of extremely light and porous solid materials; the lightest is less than four times as dense as dry air. Aerogels are produced from certain gels (see colloid) by heating the ge...

aerosol dispenser

(Encyclopedia)aerosol dispenser, device designed to produce a fine spray of liquid or solid particles that can be suspended in a gas such as the atmosphere. The dispenser commonly consists of a container that holds...