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Witwatersrand

(Encyclopedia)Witwatersrand wĭtwôˈtərzrăndˌ [key] [Afrik.,=white water ridge] or the Rand, region, Gauteng prov. (formerly a part of Transvaal), South Africa. The area, which forms the watershed between the V...

bootlegging

(Encyclopedia)bootlegging, in the United States, the illegal distribution or production of liquor and other highly taxed goods. First practiced when liquor taxes were high, bootlegging was instrumental in defeating...

tantalum

(Encyclopedia)tantalum tănˈtələm [key] [from Tantalus], metallic chemical element; symbol Ta; at. no. 73; at. wt. 180.94788; m.p. 2,996℃; b.p. 5,400±100℃; sp. gr. 16.65 at 20℃; valence +2, +3, +4, or +5....

Beersheba

(Encyclopedia)Beersheba bērshēˈbə, bērˈshēbə [key] [Heb.,=seven wells or well of the oath],...

militia

(Encyclopedia)militia məlĭshˈə [key], military organization composed of citizens enrolled and trained for service in times of national emergency. Its ranks may be filled either by enlistment or conscription. An...

Boswell, James

(Encyclopedia)Boswell, James, 1740–95, Scottish author, b. Edinburgh; son of a distinguished judge. At his father's insistence the young Boswell reluctantly studied law. Admitted to the bar in 1766, he practiced ...

Welles, Orson

(Encyclopedia)Welles, Orson, 1915–85, American actor, director, and producer, b. Kenosha, Wis. From childhood he evinced a precocious talent and lofty sense of self-assurance in theatrical matters. He began actin...

Tel Aviv

(Encyclopedia)Tel Aviv tĕl əvēvˈ [key], city (1994 pop. 355,200), W central Israel, on the Mediterranean Sea. Oficially named Tel Aviv–Jaffa, it is Israel's commercial, financial, communications, and cultural...

Gingrich, Newt

(Encyclopedia)Gingrich, Newt (Newton Leroy Gingrich) gĭngˈgrĭch [key], 1943–, U.S. congressman, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives (1995–98), b. Harrisburg, Pa., as Newton Leroy McPherson. A histor...

Bonds, Barry Lamar

(Encyclopedia)Bonds, Barry Lamar, 1964–, American baseball player, b. Riverside, Calif. Bonds grew up surrounded by baseball; his father, Bobby Bonds, was a San Francisco Giants outfielder (1968–74), and the gr...