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Pitcairn Island

(Encyclopedia)Pitcairn Island, volcanic island (2005 est. pop. 45), 2.5 sq mi (6.5 sq km), South Pacific, SE of Tuamotu Archipelago. Adamstown is the capital and only settlement. The first British Pacific Islands p...

Ulyanovsk

(Encyclopedia)Ulyanovsk o͞olyäˈnəfsk [key], city (1989 pop. 625,000), capital of Ulyanovsk region, W central European Russia, a port on the Volga and Svigaya rivers. It is a major rail and water transport cente...

Battery, the

(Encyclopedia)Battery, the, park, 21 acres (8.5 hectares), southern tip of Manhattan island, New York City; site of former Dutch and English fortifications. Castle Clinton, a fort built in 1808 for the defense of N...

Maskelyne, Nevil

(Encyclopedia)Maskelyne, Nevil măsˈkəlīn [key], 1732–1811, English astronomer. Maskelyne received his education at Westminster School and Trinity College, Cambridge. Appointed astronomer royal at the Royal Ob...

De la Rue, Warren

(Encyclopedia)De la Rue, Warren dĕlˈəro͞o, dĕləro͞oˈ [key], 1815–89, British scientist and inventor. Especially noted as an astronomer, he was a pioneer in celestial photography. He adapted the wet-plate ...

Rodgers, John, 1812–82, American naval officer

(Encyclopedia)Rodgers, John, 1812–82, American naval officer, b. Harford co., Md.; son of John Rodgers. He became (1828) a midshipman and saw varied service. He conducted (1852–56) exploring expeditions in the ...

Abbot, Charles Greeley

(Encyclopedia)Abbot, Charles Greeley, 1872–1973, American astrophysicist, b. Wilton, N.H. He was acting director in 1896 and director in 1907 of the astrophysical observatory of the Smithsonian Institution; he wa...

Crux

(Encyclopedia)Crux kro͝oks [key] [Lat.,=cross], small but brilliant southern constellation whose four most prominent members form a Latin cross, the famous Southern Cross. The long arm of the cross, terminating in...

Keeling, Charles David

(Encyclopedia)Keeling, Charles David, 1928–2005, U.S. geochemist, b. Scranton, Pa., Ph.D. Northwestern Univ., 1954. As a postdoctoral fellow at the California Institute of Technology (1953–56), he developed a s...

Mayer, Johann Tobias

(Encyclopedia)Mayer, Johann Tobias yōˈhän tōbēˈäs mīˈər [key], 1723–62, German mathematician and astronomer. In 1751 he became professor of economics and mathematics at the Univ. of Göttingen, and in 1...