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Mitchum, Robert

(Encyclopedia)Mitchum, Robert (Robert Charles Duran Mitchum), 1917–97, American film actor, b. Bridgeport, Conn. He found extra work and bit parts in early 1940s movies, and first achieved wide notice for his sup...

Levittown

(Encyclopedia)Levittown lĕvˈət-tounˌ [key]. 1 Uninc. residential city (1990 pop. 53,286), Nassau co., SE N.Y., on Long Island; founded 1947. Originally about 7 sq mi (18 sq km) of potato fields, it was develope...

Argall, Sir Samuel

(Encyclopedia)Argall, Sir Samuel ärˈgəl [key], d. 1626?, English ship captain, prominent in the early settlement of Virginia. He commanded a ship sent to Jamestown in 1609 and had charge of one of the ships Baro...

Klerksdorp

(Encyclopedia)Klerksdorp klĕrksˈdôrp [key], city, part and seat of the City of Matlosana local municipality, North West prov., NE South Africa, on the Schoonspruit River. The town, which has grain elevators, lum...

Ford, John, American film director

(Encyclopedia)Ford, John, 1895–1973, American film director, b. Cape Elizabeth, Maine, as John Martin Feeney. Ford began directing in 1917 after an apprenticeship with his brother Francis. Over the next 50 years,...

Chukchi Peninsula

(Encyclopedia)Chukchi Peninsula cho͞okˈchē [key], northeastern extremity of Asia, terminating in Cape Dezhnev, Russian Far East. Washed by the E Siberian and Chukchi seas in the northeast, the peninsula is the e...

scallop

(Encyclopedia)scallop or pecten, marine bivalve mollusk. Like its close relative the oyster, the scallop has no siphons, the mantle being completely open, but it differs from other mollusks in that both mantle edge...

Rodney, George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron

(Encyclopedia)Rodney, George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron, 1719–92, British admiral. He served with distinction in the Seven Years War (1757–63), his most notable achievement being the capture (1762) of Martinique...

porgy

(Encyclopedia)porgy pôrˈgē [key], common name for members of the Sparidae, a family of small-mouthed fishes with strong teeth adapted for crushing their food of shellfish and crustaceans. Porgies are found in wa...

sailfish

(Encyclopedia)sailfish, common name for a marine game and food fish, genus Istiophorus, belonging to the family Istiophoridae and related to the marlin. It is named for its high, wide dorsal fin (or “sail”), co...