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Tana, river, Kenya

(Encyclopedia)Tana täˈnä [key], river, c.500 mi (800 km) long, rising near Mt. Kenya, central Kenya, E Africa, and flowing E then S across Kenya to the Indian Ocean. There are hydroelectric plants and irrigation...

Leclerc, Jacques Philippe

(Encyclopedia)Leclerc, Jacques Philippe ləklĕrˈ [key], 1902–47, French general. His real name was Philippe, vicomte de Hauteclocque, but he adopted the name Leclerc in World War II. Commanding the Free French...

mamba

(Encyclopedia)mamba, name for African snakes of the genus Dendroaspis, in the cobra family. Widely distributed throughout Africa except in the deserts, mambas have extremely toxic venom. When attacking they raise t...

guinea fowl

(Encyclopedia)guinea fowl gĭnˈē [key], common name for any of the seven species of gallinaceous birds of the family Numididae, native to Africa and Madagascar. The helmeted guinea fowl, Numida meleagris, from wh...

Faidherbe, Louis Léon César

(Encyclopedia)Faidherbe, Louis Léon César lwē lāôNˈ sāzärˈ fādĕrbˈ [key], 1818–89, French colonial administrator. He was a leading participant in the establishment of the French colonial empire in Afr...

Windhoek

(Encyclopedia)Windhoek vĭntˈho͞ok [key], city (1991 pop. 147,056), capital of Namibia. It is Namibia's largest city and its administrative, communications, and economic center. Windhoek is one of the world's maj...

Macmillan, (Maurice) Harold, 1st earl of Stockton

(Encyclopedia)Macmillan, (Maurice) Harold, 1st earl of Stockton, 1894–1986, British statesman. A descendant of the founder of the publishing house of Macmillan and Company, he was educated at Eton and at Oxford a...

Gauteng

(Encyclopedia)Gauteng, province, 7,019 sq mi (18,178 sq km), NE South Africa. In 1994, under South Africa's post-apartheid constitution, Gauteng was created from the ...

Scipio Africanus Major

(Encyclopedia)Scipio Africanus Major (Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus) ăfrĭkāˈnəs [key], 236–183 b.c., Roman general, the conqueror of Hannibal in the Punic Wars. He was the son of Publius Cornelius Scipi...

viper

(Encyclopedia)viper, any of a large number of heavy-bodied, poisonous snakes of the family Viperidae, characterized by erectile, hypodermic fangs. The fangs are folded back against the roof of the mouth except when...