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Wakefield, Edward Gibbon

(Encyclopedia)Wakefield, Edward Gibbon, 1796–1862, British colonial statesman. He was attached to the British embassies in Turin (1814–16) and Paris (1820–26), but in 1826 was convicted of an attempt to marry...

Hagen, Walter

(Encyclopedia)Hagen, Walter hāˈgən [key], 1892–1969, American golfer, b. Rochester, N.Y. Hagen won the U.S. Open championship in 1914 and again in 1919; he took the British Open title in 1922, 1924, 1928, and ...

Laver, Rod

(Encyclopedia)Laver, Rod (Rodney George Laver) lāˈvər [key], 1938–, Australian tennis player. He left school at age 15 to pursue tennis and in 1962 became the first male grand-slam winner in tennis since Don B...

Torres Strait

(Encyclopedia)Torres Strait tŏrˈĭz, –rĭs [key], channel, c.95 mi (153 km) wide, between New Guinea and Cape York Peninsula of Australia. It connects the Arafura and Coral seas. The strait is shallow, with man...

Evert, Christine Marie

(Encyclopedia)Evert, Christine Marie ĕvˈərt [key], 1954–, American tennis player, b. Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Noted for her poise on the court, her strong, two-handed backhand, and her nearly flawless baseline ga...

Mount Stromlo Observatory

(Encyclopedia)Mount Stromlo Observatory, astronomical observatory located on Mt. Stromlo, near Canberra, Australia. Established in 1924 (14 years after the first telescope was erected there), it has been operated b...

Melba, Dame Nellie

(Encyclopedia)Melba, Dame Nellie, 1861–1931, Australian soprano, whose name originally was Helen Porter Mitchell. After study with Mathilde Marchesi in Paris, she made her operatic debut in Brussels in 1887. Famo...

Mackay, Lake

(Encyclopedia)Mackay, Lake məkīˈ [key], large, usually dry, saline lake, 1,829 sq mi (4,737 sq km), 65 mi (105 km) long, 40 mi (64 km) wide, W central Australia, on the border of Western Australia and the Northe...

Budge, Don

(Encyclopedia)Budge, Don (John Donald Budge), 1915–2000, American tennis player, b. Oakland, Calif. A powerful, consistent player, Budge was the first person to capture the sport's grand slam, winning the Austral...

Townsend, Mount

(Encyclopedia)Townsend, Mount, 7,247 ft (2,209 m) high, SE New South Wales, in the Australian Alps. The second tallest peak in Australia, it was explored by Polish-British geologist Sir Paul Strzelecki, who believe...