(Encyclopedia) Hope, Bob, 1903–2003, American comedian, b. London as Leslie Townes Hope; he came to the United States at the age of five. Famous for his “ski-jump” nose, topical humor, superb timing…
(Encyclopedia) Frederick VI, 1768–1839, king of Denmark (1808–39) and Norway (1808–14), son and successor of Christian VII. After the court party had executed Struensee, expelled Frederick's mother,…
(Encyclopedia) Habré, HissèneHabré, Hissènehēsĕnˈ häbrāˈ [key], 1942–, Chadian political leader, president of Chad (1982–90). He studied political science in Paris during the late 1960s and,…
(Encyclopedia) Goncourt, Edmond Louis Antoine Huot deGoncourt, Edmond Louis Antoine Huot deĕdmôNˈ lwē äNtwänˈ üōˈ də gôNk&oomacr;rˈ [key], 1822–96, and Jules Alfred Huot de GoncourtGoncourt,…
(Encyclopedia) anaplasmosisanaplasmosisănˌəplăzmōˈsĭs [key], infectious blood disease in cattle, sheep, and goats, caused by a rickettsia of the genus Anaplasma. The organism parasitizes red blood…
(Encyclopedia) gas, in physics, one of the three commonly recognized states of matter, the other two being solid and liquid. A substance in the gaseous state has neither definite shape nor definite…
(Encyclopedia) August Coup, attempted coup (Aug. 18–22, 1991) against Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. On the eve of the signing ceremony for a new union treaty for the Union of Soviet Socialist…
(Encyclopedia) oath, vocal affirmation of the truth of one's statements, generally made by appealing to a deity. From the earliest days of human history, calling upon the gods of a community to…
(Encyclopedia) automated teller machine (ATM), device used by bank customers to process account transactions. Typically, a user inserts into the ATM a special plastic card that is encoded with…
(Encyclopedia) Mayflower, ship that in 1620 brought the Pilgrims from England to New England. She set out from Southampton in company with the Speedwell, the vessel that had borne some of the English…
