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pyrrhotite

(Encyclopedia)pyrrhotite pĭrˈətīt [key] or magnetic pyrites, bronze-yellow to bronze-red mineral, a sulfide of iron sometimes containing nickel. It tarnishes easily and is somewhat magnetic. It crystallizes in ...

Barbie, Klaus

(Encyclopedia)Barbie, Klaus, 1913–91, Nazi war criminal known as the “Butcher of Lyons.” As Gestapo chief in Lyons, France (1942–44), he was responsible for the deaths of French Resistance members and thous...

Scharwenka, Franz Xaver

(Encyclopedia)Scharwenka, Franz Xaver fränts ksävârˈ shärvĕngˈkä [key], 1850–1924, Polish-German pianist and composer. He founded his own conservatories in Berlin (1881) and New York City (1891). Beginnin...

Richmond and Lennox, Charles Lennox, 3d duke of

(Encyclopedia)Richmond and Lennox, Charles Lennox, 3d duke of, 1735–1806, British statesman. He was secretary of state for the south of Europe (1766) and became a staunch defender of the cause of the American col...

Elbe

(Encyclopedia)Elbe ĕlˈbə [key], Czech Labe, a major river of central Europe, c.725 mi (1,170 km) long, rising in the Krknoše Mts., NW Czech Republic, and traversing NW Czech Republic in a wide arc. It then cuts...

degree, academic

(Encyclopedia)degree, academic, title bestowed upon a student on the fulfillment of certain requirements or given as an honor to an eminent person. The practice of awarding degrees originated in the universities of...

dormouse

(Encyclopedia)dormouse, name for Old World nocturnal rodents of the family Gliridae. There are many dormouse species, classified in several genera. Many resemble small squirrels. Dormice sleep deeply during the day...

Cro-Magnon man

(Encyclopedia)Cro-Magnon man krō-măgˈnən, –mănˈyən [key], an early Homo sapiens (the species to which modern humans belong) that lived about 40,000 years ago. Skeletal remains and associated artifacts of t...

corn borer

(Encyclopedia)corn borer or European corn borer, common name for the larva of a moth of the family Pyralidae, introduced from S Europe into the Boston area in 1917. The corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis, has steadily ...

Cluniac order

(Encyclopedia)Cluniac order klo͞oˈnē-ăkˌ [key], medieval organization of Benedictines centered at the abbey of Cluny, France. Founded in 910 by the monk Berno and Count William of Aquitaine, the abbey's consti...