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amethyst

(Encyclopedia)amethyst ămˈəthĭst [key] [Gr.,=non-drunkenness], variety of quartz, violet to purple in color, used as a gem. It is the most highly valued of the semiprecious quartzes. It is associated with a num...

Fonseca, Manuel Deodoro da

(Encyclopedia)Fonseca, Manuel Deodoro da mänwĕlˈ dēo͝oᵺôˈro͝o dä fo͝onsĕˈkə [key], 1827–92, first president of Brazil (1891). A leader of the discontented militarists who helped overturn the empire...

Schenck, Robert Cumming

(Encyclopedia)Schenck, Robert Cumming skĕngk [key], 1809–90, American politician and diplomat, Union general in the Civil War, b. Franklin, Ohio. He studied law and practiced in Dayton. Schenck was a Whig in Con...

Campinas

(Encyclopedia)Campinas kəmpēˈnəs [key], city, São Paulo state, S Brazil. It is a growing industrial an...

carnauba

(Encyclopedia)carnauba kärnôˈbə, –nouˈ– [key], wax obtained from the wax palm, or carnauba (Copernicia cerifera), of Brazil. It is secreted by the leaves, apparently in defense against the hot winds and dr...

Dutch West India Company

(Encyclopedia)Dutch West India Company, trading and colonizing company, chartered by the States-General of the Dutch republic in 1621 and organized in 1623. Through its agency New Netherland was founded. The phenom...

Guiana Highlands

(Encyclopedia)Guiana Highlands, mountainous tableland, c.1,200 mi (1,930 km) long and from 200 to 600 mi (322–966 km) wide, N South America, bounded by the Orinoco and Amazon river basins, and by the coastal lowl...

Cunha, Euclides da

(Encyclopedia)Cunha, Euclides da āˌo͝oklēˈdĭsh dä ko͞oˈnyə [key], 1866–1909, Brazilian writer. After his military service, Cunha became a civil engineer and a journalist. He wrote several historical wor...

Franco, Itamar Augusto

(Encyclopedia)Franco, Itamar Augusto, 1930–2011, Brazilian political leader. He began his political career as mayor (1966–74) of his hometown, Juiz de Fora, and was subsequently (1974, 1982) elected to the Braz...

Hilliard, Henry Washington

(Encyclopedia)Hilliard, Henry Washington hĭlˈyərd [key], 1808–92, American statesman and diplomat, b. Fayetteville, N.C. After teaching English literature (1831–34) at the Univ. of Alabama, he began to pract...