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starling

(Encyclopedia)starling, any of a group of originally Old World birds that have become distributed worldwide. Starlings were released in New York City in 1890; since then the common, or European, starling (Sturnus v...

Perry, William James

(Encyclopedia)Perry, William James, 1927–, U.S. government official, b. Vandergrift, Pa. A Ph.D. in mathematics, former Stanford engineering professor, and founder of a military electronics firm, he served (1977â...

Peel, Sir Robert

(Encyclopedia)Peel, Sir Robert, 1788–1850, British statesman. The son of a rich cotton manufacturer, whose baronetcy he inherited in 1830, Peel entered Parliament as a Tory in 1809. He served (1812–18) as chief...

HICKEL, WALTER JOSEPH

(Encyclopedia)Hickel, Walter Joseph, 1919–2010, U.S. secretary of the interior (1969–70), b. Claflin, Kan. After moving to Alaska in 1940, he founded (1947) a construction company and built it into a multimilli...

North Little Rock

(Encyclopedia)North Little Rock, city (1990 pop. 61,741), Pulaski co., central Ark., on the Arkansas River opposite Little Rock; settled c.1856, inc. as a city 1903. North Little Rock lies in a cotton, rice, soybea...

Patrick, Deval Laurdine

(Encyclopedia)Patrick, Deval Laurdine, 1956–, African-American politician and government official, b. Chicago, grad. Harvard 1978, Harvard Law School 1982. A lawyer with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund from 1983 to ...

Wentworth, William Charles

(Encyclopedia)Wentworth, William Charles, 1793?–1872, Australian statesman. His exploration (1813) of the Blue Mts. in Australia revealed vast pasturelands in the western part of the continent. In 1816 he went to...

boat-billed heron

(Encyclopedia)boat-billed heron or boatbill, a tropical New World heron, Chochlearius chochlearius. With shorter legs and a squatter appearance than most herons, this bird is remarkable chiefly for its broad bill, ...

spoonbill

(Encyclopedia)spoonbill, common name for a large wading bird related to the ibis. It has a long bill with a tip like a flattened spoon, with which it captures small aquatic animals. The roseate spoonbill, Ajaia aja...

Coolidge, Calvin

(Encyclopedia)Coolidge, Calvin, 1872–1933, 30th President of the United States (1923–29), b. Plymouth, Vt. John Calvin Coolidge was a graduate of Amherst College and was admitted to the bar in 1897. He practice...