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Vancouver Island

(Encyclopedia)Vancouver Island (1991 pop. 579,921), 12,408 sq mi (32,137 sq km), SW British Columbia, Canada, in the Pacific Ocean; largest island off W North America. It is c.285 mi (460 km) long and c.30 to 80 mi...

Fleming, Ian Lancaster

(Encyclopedia)Fleming, Ian Lancaster, 1908–64, English spy novelist, b. London. Son of a Conservative member of Parliament, Fleming was educated at Eton, Sandhurst, and Munich and Geneva universities and worked a...

Shimonoseki

(Encyclopedia)Shimonoseki shēˈmōnōsāˌkē [key], city (1990 pop. 262,635), Yamaguchi prefecture, extreme SW Honshu, Japan. An important port and fishing center on Shimonoseki Strait, it is opposite Kitakyushu,...

Stark, Harold Raynsford

(Encyclopedia)Stark, Harold Raynsford, 1880–1972, American admiral, b. Wilkes-Barre, Pa. A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, he was commissioned (1905) an ensign in the navy. After service in World...

George V, king of Great Britain and Ireland

(Encyclopedia)George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert), 1865–1936, king of Great Britain and Ireland (1910–36), second son and successor of Edward VII. At the age of 12 he commenced a naval career, but this en...

coast guard

(Encyclopedia)coast guard, special naval force assigned to seaboard duties. Its primary responsibilities usually consist in suppressing contraband trade and aiding vessels in distress. The British coast guard was e...

cocktail

(Encyclopedia)cocktail, short mixed drink originating in the United States and served as an appetizer. It generally has a basis of gin, whisky, rum, or brandy combined with vermouth or fruit juices and often flavor...

safety valve

(Encyclopedia)safety valve, device attached to a boiler or other vessel for automatically relieving the pressure of steam before it becomes great enough to cause bursting. The common spring-loaded type is held clos...

Delcassé, Théophile

(Encyclopedia)Delcassé, Théophile tāôfēlˈ dĕlkäsāˈ [key], 1852–1923, French foreign minister. He began his career as a political journalist and then turned to politics. First undersecretary and then min...

Mahan, Alfred Thayer

(Encyclopedia)Mahan, Alfred Thayer məhănˈ [key], 1840–1914, U.S. naval officer and historian, b. West Point, N.Y. A Union naval officer in the Civil War, he later lectured on naval history and strategy at the ...