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Iron Gate

(Encyclopedia)Iron Gate, Rom. Porţile de Fier, Serbian Gvozdena Vrata, gorge of the Danube River, c.2 mi (3.2 km) long and c.550 ft (170 m) wide, on the Serbia-Romania border between Orşova and Drobeta-Turnu Seve...

Palakkad

(Encyclopedia)Palakkad pälgôtˈ [key], town (2011 pop. 130,955), Kerala state, SW India. It commands the Palakkad, or Palghat, Gap, the major pass for road and rail through the Western Ghats, connecting the India...

Good Agricultural Practices

(Encyclopedia)Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), economically, socially, and environmentally responsible methods and technologies for the raising and marketing of agricultural and horticultural products. Good agric...

Cumberland Plateau

(Encyclopedia)Cumberland Plateau or Cumberland Mountains, southwestern division of the Appalachian Mt. system, extending northeast to southwest through parts of West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee into...

Eastern Shore

(Encyclopedia)Eastern Shore, the tidewater region along E shore of Chesapeake Bay, including all of Maryland and Virginia E of the bay. The region's economy was historically based largely on agriculture and fishing...

McKean, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)McKean, Thomas məkānˈ, –kēnˈ [key], 1734–1817, political leader in the American Revolution, signer of the Declaration of Independence, b. New London, Pa. He settled at New Castle, Del., and b...

Dickinson, John

(Encyclopedia)Dickinson, John, 1732–1808, American patriot and statesman, b. Talbot co., Md. After studying law in Philadelphia and in London at the Middle Temple, he developed a highly successful practice in Phi...

ignition

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Ignition system ignition, apparatus for igniting a combustible mixture. The German engineer Nikolaus A. Otto, in his first gas engine, used flame ignition; another method was heating a metal t...

Laughton, Charles

(Encyclopedia)Laughton, Charles, 1899–1962, Anglo-American actor, b. Scarborough, England. A large, versatile character actor, Laughton was successful both in films and on the stage. In The Private Life of Henry ...

Leutze, Emanuel

(Encyclopedia)Leutze, Emanuel loitˈsə [key], 1816–68, American historical painter, b. Germany. In 1859 he settled in the United States, working in Washington, D.C., and New York City. His pictures are chiefly E...