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Securities and Exchange Commission

(Encyclopedia)Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), agency of the U.S. government created by the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and charged with protecting the interests of the public and investors in connecti...

Skidmore, Owings and Merrill

(Encyclopedia)Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, American architectural firm founded in 1936 in New York City by Louis Skidmore (1897–1962), Nathaniel A. Owings (1903–84), and John O. Merrill (1896–1975). The firm...

Persian art and architecture

(Encyclopedia)Persian art and architecture, works of art and structures produced in the region of Asia traditionally known as Persia and now called Iran. Bounded by fierce mountains and deserts, the high plateau of...

Charles III, king of Spain, and of Naples and Sicily

(Encyclopedia)Charles III, 1716–88, king of Spain (1759–88) and of Naples and Sicily (1735–59), son of Philip V and Elizabeth Farnese. Recognized as duke of Parma and Piacenza in 1731, he relinquished the duc...

dice, in games and gambling

(Encyclopedia)dice [plural of die], small cubes used in games. They are usually made of ivory, bone, wood, plastic, or similar materials. The six sides are numbered by dots from 1 to 6, so placed that the sum of th...

Early Christian art and architecture

(Encyclopedia)Early Christian art and architecture, works of art exhibiting Christian themes and structures designed for Christian worship created relatively soon after the death of Jesus. Most date from the 4th to...

earth, in geology and astronomy

(Encyclopedia)CE5 A. Cross section of the earth, showing its shells B. Detailed cross section of the crust and upper mantle: The lithosphere consists of the hard rock in the crust and upper mantle, lying above t...

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