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Berkman, Alexander

(Encyclopedia)Berkman, Alexander bĕrkˈmän, bûrkˈmən [key], 1870–1936, anarchist, b. Vilna (then in Russian Lithuania). He immigrated to the United States c.1887. Angered by the violent suppression of the Ho...

kaolinite

(Encyclopedia)kaolinite kāˈəlĭnīt [key], clay mineral crystallizing in the monoclinic system and forming the chief constituent of china clay and kaolin. It is a hydrous aluminum silicate commonly formed by the...

firing

(Encyclopedia)firing, process of treating clay or other plastic ceramic materials with heat to produce a hard, durable but brittle material such as pottery. Primitive potters baked their clay in an open fire, but f...

Missouri Compromise

(Encyclopedia)Missouri Compromise, 1820–21, measures passed by the U.S. Congress to end the first of a series of crises concerning the extension of slavery. By 1818, Missouri Territory had gained sufficient popul...

Kendall, Amos

(Encyclopedia)Kendall, Amos kĕnˈdəl [key], 1789–1869, American journalist and statesman, b. Dunstable, Middlesex co., Mass. He edited (1816–29) at Frankfort, Ky., the Argus of Western America, one of the mos...

hardpan

(Encyclopedia)hardpan, condition of the soil or subsoil in which the soil grains become cemented together by such bonding agents as iron oxide and calcium carbonate, forming a hard, impervious mass. It is disadvant...

pencil

(Encyclopedia)pencil, pointed implement used in writing or drawing to apply graphite or a similar colored solid to any surface, especially paper. From prehistoric times lumps of colored earth or chalk were used as ...

Adams, John Quincy

(Encyclopedia)Adams, John Quincy, 1767–1848, 6th President of the United States (1825–29), b. Quincy (then in Braintree), Mass.; son of John Adams and Abigail Adams and father of Charles Francis Adams (1807–8...

Bessemer process

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Bessemer converter Bessemer process bĕsˈəmər [key] [for Sir Henry Bessemer], industrial process for the manufacture of steel from molten pig iron. The principle involved is that of oxidati...

National Road

(Encyclopedia)National Road, U.S. highway built in the early 19th cent. At the time of its construction, the National Road was the most ambitious road-building project ever undertaken in the United States. It final...