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Aldrin, Buzz

(Encyclopedia)Aldrin, Buzz ôlˈdrĭn [key] (Edwin Eugene Aldrin, Jr.), 1930–, American astronaut, b. Montclair, N.J. After graduating from West Point (1951), Aldrin joined the U.S. air force and flew 66 combat m...

Jefferson, Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Jefferson, Joseph, 1829–1905, American actor. He was the foremost of an old and distinguished family of English and American actors. Jefferson began his stage career as a child actor, and when the f...

Twombly, Cy

(Encyclopedia)Twombly, Cy (Edwin Parker Twombly, Jr.), 1928–2011, American painter, b. Lexington, Va., studied Boston Museum School, Washington and Lee Univ., Lexington, Va., Art Students' League, New York City. ...

rammed earth

(Encyclopedia)rammed earth, material consisting chiefly of soil of sufficiently stiff consistency that has been placed in forms and pounded down. It has been used for buildings and walls since ancient times and was...

space shuttle

(Encyclopedia)space shuttle, reusable U.S. space vehicle (1981–2011). Developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and officially known as the Space Transportation System (STS), it was th...

pion

(Encyclopedia)pion pīˈŏn [key] or pi meson, lightest of the meson family of elementary particles. The existence of the pion was predicted in 1935 by Hideki Yukawa, who theorized that it was responsible for the f...

New Delhi

(Encyclopedia)New Delhi dĕlˈē [key], city (1991 pop. 294,149), capital of India and of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, N central India, on the right bank of the Yamuna River. Predominantly an administra...

neptunium

(Encyclopedia)neptunium nĕpto͞oˈnēəm [key], radioactive chemical element; symbol Np; at. no. 93; mass number of most stable isotope 237; m.p. about 640℃; b.p. 3,902℃ (estimated); sp. gr. 20.25 at 20℃; va...

Tenure of Office Act

(Encyclopedia)Tenure of Office Act, in U.S. history, measure passed on Mar. 2, 1867, by Congress over the veto of President Andrew Johnson; it forbade the President to remove any federal officeholder appointed by a...

Titan , in astronomy

(Encyclopedia)Titan tīˈtən [key], in astronomy, the largest of the named moons, or natural satellites, of Saturn. Also known as Saturn VI (or S6), Titan is 3,200 mi (5,150 km) in diameter, orbits Saturn at a mea...