(Encyclopedia) nullity of marriage, in law, an unlawful marriage that is either void or voidable because of conditions existing at the time of the marriage. A bigamous or incestuous marriage, for…
(Encyclopedia) twilight, period between sunset and total darkness or between total darkness and sunrise. Total darkness does not occur immediately when the sun sinks below the horizon because light…
(Encyclopedia) Open University, headquartered at Milton Keynes, England; founded 1969 as the Univ. of the Air. In 1971 a distance learning program was begun that now consists of correspondence…
(Encyclopedia) Smith, Emmitt (Emmitt James Smith 3d), 1969–, U.S. football player, b. Pensacola, Fla. An All-America running back at the Univ. of Florida, Smith spent nearly his entire National…
(Encyclopedia) turkey, common name for a large game and poultry bird related to the grouse and the pheasant. Its name derives from its “turk-turk” call. Turkeys are indigenous to the New World;…
(Encyclopedia) ShemaiahShemaiahshĕmˌāīˈə [key], in the Bible. 1 Prophet at the time of Rehoboam. 2 False prophet during the Captivity. 3 False prophet hired to discredit Nehemiah. 4 Descendant of…
(Encyclopedia) epoch, unit of geologic time that is a subdivision of a period. The Pleistocene and Holocene epochs, for example, are divisions of the Quaternary period. Epoch is also used to describe…
(Encyclopedia) McTaggart, John McTaggart Ellis, 1866–1925, British philosopher. A student of G. W. Hegel, by whom he was strongly influenced, he taught at Trinity College, Cambridge (1897–1923).…
(Encyclopedia) Byng, John, 1704–57, British admiral; son of George Byng, Viscount Torrington. Sent (1756) to prevent the French from taking Minorca, he arrived when the island was already under siege…
(Encyclopedia) era, period of historic time. In geology, it is the name applied to large divisions of geological process, e.g., Paleozoic era (see geology). In chronology an era is a period reckoned…
