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Kittery

(Encyclopedia)Kittery kĭtˈərē [key], town (1990 pop. 9,372), York co., extreme SW Maine, at the mouth of the Piscataqua River opposite Portsmouth, N.H.; inc. 1647. Its economy centers around tourism and the Por...

Herreshoff, John Brown

(Encyclopedia)Herreshoff, John Brown hĕrˈəs-hŏf [key], 1841–1915, American yacht and ship builder. Though totally blind from the time he was 15, he managed his own sail-boat building company until his brother...

Gray, Robert

(Encyclopedia)Gray, Robert, 1755–1806, American sea captain, discoverer of the Columbia River, b. Tiverton, R.I. He probably served in the Continental navy in the American Revolution. In 1787 he and Capt. John Ke...

Ermoupolis

(Encyclopedia)Ermoupolis, Hermoupolis sēˈrôs [key], city, capital of Cyclades prefecture, SE Greece, on the east coast ...

icebreaker

(Encyclopedia)icebreaker, ship of special hull design and wide beam, with relatively flat bottom, designed to force its way through ice. When the icebreaker charges into the ice at full speed, its sharply inclined ...

dry rot

(Encyclopedia)dry rot, fungus disease that attacks both softwood and hardwood timber. Destruction of the cellulose causes discoloration and eventual crumbling of the wood. This frequently results in the collapse of...

Chester, city, United States

(Encyclopedia)Chester, city (2020 pop. 32,605), Delaware co., SE Pa., on the Delaware River south of Philadelphia; settled c.1644 by Swedes, inc. as a city 1866. A po...

figurehead

(Encyclopedia)figurehead, carved decoration usually representing a head or figure placed under the bowsprit of a ship. The art is of extreme antiquity. Ancient galleys and triremes carried rostrums, or beaks, on th...

Senkaku Islands

(Encyclopedia)Senkaku Islands sĕnˈkäko͞o [key], small, uninhabited island group, 8 sq mi (20.7 sq km), Okinawa prefecture, extreme SW Japan, in the East China Sea. Located 90 mi (45 km) NNW of Ishigaki in the R...

Shovell, Sir Clowdisley

(Encyclopedia)Shovell, Sir Clowdisley, or Sir Cloudesley Shovel kloudzˈlē shŭvˈəl [key], 1650–1707, English admiral. In the War of the Grand Alliance he burned enemy ships at the battle of La Hogue in 1692 a...