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desert

(Encyclopedia)desert, arid region, usually partly covered by sand, having scanty vegetation or sometimes almost none, and capable of supporting only a limited and specially adapted animal population. The so-called ...

Grätz, Heinrich

(Encyclopedia)Grätz or Graetz, Heinrich both: hīnˈrĭkh grĕts [key], 1817–91, German Jewish historian. He was the first modern historian to write, from a Jewish perspective, a comprehensive history of the Jew...

Medina, José Toribio

(Encyclopedia)Medina, José Toribio hōsāˈ tōrēˈbyō māᵺēˈnä [key], 1852–1930, Chilean scholar. He traveled widely in Latin America, Europe, and the United States, collecting documents relevant to Lati...

Myers, Gustavus

(Encyclopedia)Myers, Gustavus, 1872–1942, American historian, b. Trenton, N.J. He worked on a number of newspapers and magazines in New York City, joined the Populist party and the Social Reform Club, and was a m...

Klyuchevsky, Vasily Osipovich

(Encyclopedia)Klyuchevsky, Vasily Osipovich vəsēˈlyē ôˈsĭpəvĭch klyo͞ochĕvˈskē [key], 1841–1911, Russian historian. Interpreting history from a sociological viewpoint, he emphasized geographic and ec...

Stevens, Abel

(Encyclopedia)Stevens, Abel, 1815–97, American clergyman, noted as the historian of Methodism, b. Philadephia, studied Wesleyan Univ. He became (1834) a member of the New England Methodist Conference, and filled ...

Herodotus

(Encyclopedia)Herodotus hērŏdˈətəs [key], 484?–425? b.c., Greek historian, called the Father of History, b. Halicarnassus, Asia Minor. Only scant knowledge of his life can be gleaned from his writings and fr...

Altamira y Crevea, Rafaél

(Encyclopedia)Altamira y Crevea, Rafaél räfäĕlˈ ältämēˈrä ē krāvāˈä [key], 1866–1951, Spanish jurist and historian. He was appointed professor of the history of the law in the universities at Ovied...

Sweet, Henry

(Encyclopedia)Sweet, Henry, 1845–1912, English philologist and phonetician. An authority on Anglo-Saxon and the history of the English language, Sweet was also a pioneer in modern scientific phonetics. His Histor...

Belknap, Jeremy

(Encyclopedia)Belknap, Jeremy bĕlˈnăp [key], 1744–98, American historian, b. Boston. A Congregational minister, he wrote history out of antiquarian interest, but showed great diligence and skill in research an...