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Bevin, Ernest

(Encyclopedia)Bevin, Ernest bĕvˈən [key], 1881–1951, British labor leader and statesman. An orphan who earned his own living from childhood, he began a long career as a trade union official when he became secr...

Ransom, John Crowe

(Encyclopedia)Ransom, John Crowe, 1888–1974, American poet and critic, b. Pulaski, Tenn., grad. Vanderbilt Univ. and studied at Oxford as a Rhodes scholar. He is considered one of the great stylists of 20th-centu...

Ravalomanana, Marc

(Encyclopedia)Ravalomanana, Marc märk rävälōmänänˈ [key], 1949–, Malagasy political leader. He made a fortune manufacturing dairy products and began his political career in 1999 when he was elected mayor o...

switch

(Encyclopedia)switch, electrical device having two states: on, or closed; and off, or open. Ideally a switch offers a zero impedance to a current when it is closed, and it offers infinite impedance when open. Mecha...

taste

(Encyclopedia)taste, response to chemical stimulation that enables an organism to detect flavors. In humans and most vertebrate animals, taste is produced by the stimulation by various substances of the taste buds ...

Sun Tzu

(Encyclopedia)Sun Tzu so͞on dzo͞o [key], fl. c.500–320. b.c., name used by the unknown Chinese authors of the sophisticated treatise on philosophy, logistics, espionage, and strategy and tactics known as The Ar...

Basque language

(Encyclopedia)Basque language, tongue of uncertain relationship spoken by close to a million people, most of whom live in NE Spain and some of whom reside in SW France. The language has eight dialects. Speakers of ...

Plesiosaurus

(Encyclopedia)Plesiosaurus plēˌsēəsôrˈəs [key], genus of extinct predatory marine reptiles that arose in the Triassic period of geologic time and continued into the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Plesiosau...

compression

(Encyclopedia)compression, external stress applied to an object or substance, tending to cause a decrease in volume (see pressure). Gases can be compressed easily, solids and liquids to a very small degree if at al...

Cobden, Richard

(Encyclopedia)Cobden, Richard kŏbˈdən [key], 1804–65, British politician, a leading spokesman for the Manchester school. He made a fortune as a calico printer in Manchester. A firm believer in free trade, afte...