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Schouten, Willem Cornelis

(Encyclopedia)Schouten, Willem Cornelis vĭlˈəm kôrnāˈlĭs skhouˈtən [key], 1567?–1625, Dutch navigator. In 1615 he sailed from Texel island, Holland, in command of an expedition whose objective was to eva...

Chalcedon, Council of

(Encyclopedia)Chalcedon, Council of, fourth ecumenical council, convened in 451 by Pulcheria and Marcian, empress and emperor of the East, to settle the scandal of the Robber Synod and to discuss Eutychianism (see ...

Yahya Khan, Agha Muhammad

(Encyclopedia)Yahya Khan, Agha Muhammad äˈgä mo͞ohämˈmäd yäˈyä khän [key], 1917–80, Pakistani general and president (1969–71). He fought with the British in World War II, and rose through the Pakista...

Manuel I, 1469–1521, king of Portugal

(Encyclopedia)Manuel I, 1469–1521, king of Portugal (1495–1521), successor of John II. Manuel's reign was most notable for the successful continuation of Portugal's overseas enterprises. John had planned the ex...

Fox, George

(Encyclopedia)Fox, George, 1624–91, English religious leader, founder of the Society of Friends, b. Fenny Drayton in Leicestershire. As a boy he was apprenticed to a shoemaker and wool dealer. By nature serious a...

Jaggar,Thomas Augustus, Jr.

(Encyclopedia)Jaggar,Thomas Augustus, Jr., 1871–1953, American geologist and volcanologist, b. Philadelphia, Ph.D. Harvard, 1897. One of the team of U.S. scientists (1902) who surveyed the eruptions in the West I...

Saint Martin

(Encyclopedia)Saint Martin săN märtăNˈ [key], Du. Sint Maarten, island, 37 sq mi (96 sq km), West Indies, one of the Leeward Islands. Since its occupation in 1648 by the Dutch and the French, it has been divide...

Vancouver, George

(Encyclopedia)Vancouver, George, 1757–98, English navigator and explorer. He sailed on Capt. James Cook's second and third voyages. After 1780 he served under Admiral George Rodney in the West Indies, taking part...

Central America

(Encyclopedia)Central America, narrow, southernmost region (c.202,200 sq mi/523,698 sq km) of North America, linked to South America at Colombia. It separates the Caribbean from the Pacific. Historically, geographe...

Caribs

(Encyclopedia)Caribs kărˈĭbz [key], native people formerly inhabiting the Lesser Antilles, West Indies. They are also known as Island Caribs; their Domincan descendants called themselves Kalinago. They seem to h...