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Balchen, Bernt

(Encyclopedia)Balchen, Bernt bârnt bälˈkən [key], 1899–1973, Norwegian-American aviator. He headed one of the search expeditions for Amundsen and Ellsworth in 1925 and was a member of their 1926 expedition to...

Rickenbacker, Edward Vernon

(Encyclopedia)Rickenbacker, Edward Vernon, 1890–1973, American war hero and airline executive, b. Columbus, Ohio. He became a car racing driver at 16 and set numerous speed records. In World War I he volunteered ...

city-state

(Encyclopedia)city-state, in ancient Greece, Italy, and Medieval Europe, an independent political unit consisting of a city and surrounding countryside. The first city-states were in Sumer, but they reached their p...

Cresilas

(Encyclopedia)Cresilas or Kresilas both: krĕsˈĭləs [key], fl. c.450 b.c., Greek sculptor, b. Crete. He worked at Athens. His statue of Pericles is the earliest Greek portrait statue that has been identified. ...

Migne, Jacques Paul

(Encyclopedia)Migne, Jacques Paul zhäk pôl mēˈnyə [key], 1800–1875, French publisher of theological works, a Roman Catholic priest (ordained 1824). He set up a printing press in Paris and printed many religi...

Mavrokordatos, Alexander

(Encyclopedia)Mavrokordatos or Mavrocordatos, Alexander both: mävˌrôkôr-ᵺäˌtôs [key], 1791–1865, Greek patriot and statesman. He took an active part in the Greek revolt (1821) against Turkey and wrote th...

Mesolóngion

(Encyclopedia)Mesolóngion mÄ­sÉ™lôngˈgÄ“ [key], town (1991 pop. 12,103), capital of Aetolia and Acarnania prefecture, W central Greece, a port on the Gulf of Pátrai. It trades in fish, wine, and tobacco. MesolÃ...

Byzantine music

(Encyclopedia)Byzantine music, the music of the Byzantine Empire composed to Greek texts as ceremonial, festival, or church music. Long thought to be only a further development of ancient Greek music, Byzantine mus...

Mitsotakis, Kyriakos

(Encyclopedia)Mitsotakis, Kyriakos, 1968–, Greek political leader. Son of Constantine Mitsotakis, he studied in the United States, worked as an economist in London (1990–91, 1995–97), then returned to Greece ...

X

(Encyclopedia)X, 24th letter of the alphabet. In English it has no peculiar sound, but stands for the combination ks as in fox, or gz as in exempt, or, initially, for the sound of z as in xenia. In words from Greek...