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Tonkin Gulf resolution

(Encyclopedia)Tonkin Gulf resolution, in U.S. history, Congressional resolution passed in 1964 that authorized military action in Southeast Asia. On Aug. 4, 1964, North Vietnamese torpedo boats in the Gulf of Tonki...

Far East

(Encyclopedia)Far East, in the most restricted sense, region comprising the countries of E Asia, namely China, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Mongolia, and Taiwan, and the easternmost portion of Russian Siberia (...

fermented milk

(Encyclopedia)fermented milk, whole or skim milk curdled to beverage or custardlike consistency by lactic-acid-producing microorganisms. Many forms of fermented milk were used by early nomadic herders, especially i...

Turkistan-Siberia Railroad

(Encyclopedia)Turkistan-Siberia Railroad, abbreviated as Turk-Sib, important railroad in Central Asia, providing the shortest link between Siberia and Central Asia. Completed in 1931, it runs from the Trans-Siberia...

Grafton, Richard

(Encyclopedia)Grafton, Richard, d. c.1572, London publisher and printer. In 1539 with Edward Whitchurch he printed the Great Bible in black letter (see type). He printed the first edition of the Book of Common Pray...

python, in zoology

(Encyclopedia)python pīˈthŏn [key], name for nonvenomous constrictor snakes of the boa family, found in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, Australia, and the S Pacific islands. Pythons climb and swim expertly...

Asama, Mount

(Encyclopedia)Asama, Mount –yäˈmä [key], peak, 8,425 ft (2,568 m) high, central Honshu, Japan, near Komoro. One of the largest and most active volcanoes in Japan, it erupted violently in 1783 and has frequent ...

Bruch, Max

(Encyclopedia)Bruch, Max mäks bro͞okh [key], 1838–1920, German composer. He conducted the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra (1880–83) and taught at the Berlin Hochschule (1892–1910). His Violin Concerto in G...

Zebulun

(Encyclopedia)Zebulun zĕbˈyo͞olən [key], in the Bible, son of Jacob and Leah, eponymous ancestor of one of the 12 tribes of Israel. Its allotment was in N Palestine W of Mt. Carmel. The judge Elon was from this...

mother-of-pearl

(Encyclopedia)mother-of-pearl or nacre nāˈkər [key], the iridescent substance that forms the lining of the shells of some fresh-water and some salt-water mollusks. Like the pearl it is a secretion of the mantle,...