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Shelekhov, Grigori Ivanovich

(Encyclopedia)Shelekhov, Grigori Ivanovich grĭgôˈrē ēväˈnəvĭch shĕˈlyĭkhəf [key], 1747–95, Russian fur trader in North America, b. Rylsk, Ukraine. He had built up a large fur business in Siberia when...

shell money

(Encyclopedia)shell money, medium of exchange consisting of shells, the most widely distributed type of ancient currency. Shells are particularly useful as money because they may be strung in long strips of proport...

Shirley, William

(Encyclopedia)Shirley, William, 1694–1771, colonial governor in British North America, b. England. He became a lawyer and in 1731 emigrated to Massachusetts. In 1741 he became governor of Massachusetts. He oppose...

Russian American Company

(Encyclopedia)Russian American Company, colonial trading company, chartered by Czar Paul I in 1799. The charter granted the merchant-dominated company monopoly trading privileges in Russian America, which included ...

Punta del Este

(Encyclopedia)Punta del Este po͞onˈtä ᵺĕl āsˈtā [key], city (1996 pop. 8,252), E Uruguay, on the Atlantic Ocean. Located on a narrow peninsula surrounded by excellent beaches, Punta del Este is one of the ...

Ojeda, Alonso de

(Encyclopedia)Ojeda, Alonso de älōnˈsō ᵺā ōhāˈᵺä [key], c.1466–1515?, Spanish conquistador. He joined Columbus on his second voyage and in 1499—at first accompanied by Vespucci—explored the north...

Waldseemüller, Martin

(Encyclopedia)Waldseemüller, Martin märˈtĭn vältˌzāmülˈər [key], Gr. Ilacomilus, 1470?–1522?, German cosmographer. A member of a society of humanists known as the Gymnasium Vosagense, he lived at Saint-...

Bradley, Bill

(Encyclopedia)Bradley, Bill (William Warren Bradley), 1943–, American athlete and politician, b. Crystal City, Mo. He first gained wide attention as an All-America basketball player at Princeton. Graduating in 19...

Soloveitchik, Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Soloveitchik, Joseph sŏˌləvāˈchĭk [key], 1903–93, Jewish Talmudist and philosopher. Born into a rabbinic family in Poland, he was educated according to his grandfather's analytical method of T...

Sonneck, Oscar George Theodore

(Encyclopedia)Sonneck, Oscar George Theodore sŭnˈĕk [key], 1873–1928, American musicologist, b. Jersey City, N.J., educated in Germany. As chief (1902–17) of the music division of the Library of Congress, he...