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Presidential Range

(Encyclopedia)Presidential Range, group of the White Mts., N N.H., so called from the names of its peaks. Mt. Washington (6,288 ft/1,917 m) is the highest peak in New Hampshire; a meteorological station is at the s...

Fragonard, Jean-Honoré

(Encyclopedia)Fragonard, Jean-Honoré zhäN-ōnôrāˈ frägônärˈ [key], 1732–1806, French painter. He studied with Chardin, Carle Vanloo, and intensively with Boucher, whose style he assimilated. He won the P...

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...

David, Gerard

(Encyclopedia)David or Davit, Gerard both: gāˈrärt däˈvēt [key], c.1460–1523, Flemish painter, b. Oudewater, Holland. By 1484 he had established himself in Bruges, where he remained until his death. Depende...

Holbein, Hans

(Encyclopedia)Holbein, Hans häns hôlˈbīn [key] the elder, c.1465–1524, German painter and draftsman. Holbein worked principally in Augsburg and Ulm, painting altarpieces for churches and probably creating por...

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 ...