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rainmaking

(Encyclopedia)rainmaking, production of rain by artificial means now generally disregarded, though it is probable that rainmaking hastens or increases rainfall from clouds suitable for natural rainfall. Interest in...

Bopp, Franz

(Encyclopedia)Bopp, Franz fränts bôp [key], 1791–1867, German philologist. A professor at the Univ. of Berlin from 1821 to 1864, he did research in many languages and earned a great reputation as a scholar by d...

Bergmann, Ernst von

(Encyclopedia)Bergmann, Ernst von ĕrnst fən bĕrgˈmän [key], 1836–1907, German surgeon, b. Riga. He became a professor at the Univ. of Berlin in 1882. He contributed to the modern practice of asepsis in surge...

Du Bois-Reymond, Emil

(Encyclopedia)Du Bois-Reymond, Emil āˈmēl dü bwä-rāmôNˈ [key], 1818–96, German physiologist of French descent. A pupil and successor (after 1858) of Johannes Müller at the Univ. of Berlin, he is known es...

Fehrbellin, battle of

(Encyclopedia)Fehrbellin, battle of fĕˌbĕlēnˈ [key], 1675. Allied with France in the third Dutch War, King Charles XI of Sweden invaded Brandenburg but was defeated near the town of Fehrbellin, 35 mi (56 km) N...

Elman, Mischa

(Encyclopedia)Elman, Mischa mĭshˈə ĕlˈmən [key], 1891–1967, Russian-American violinist, b. Kiev. He studied in St. Petersburg with Leopold Auer, and first gained prominence in Berlin at the age of 13. After...

Squarcione, Francesco

(Encyclopedia)Squarcione, Francesco fränchāˈskō skwärchōˈnā [key], 1397–1468, Italian painter; teacher of Mantegna. According to tradition he was a tailor and embroiderer who turned to painting c.1429 and...

marathon race

(Encyclopedia)marathon race, long-distance foot race deriving its name from Marathon, Greece. According to legend, in 490 b.c., Pheidippides, a runner from Marathon, carried news of victory over the Persians to Ath...

Poggendorff, Johann Christian

(Encyclopedia)Poggendorff, Johann Christian yōˈhän krĭsˈtyän pôgˈəndôrfˌ [key], 1796–1877, German physicist and chemist. He founded (1824) and edited the important Annalen der Physik und Chemie and edi...

Coques, Gonzales

(Encyclopedia)Coques or Cocx, Gonzales gōnzäˈlĕs kōks [key], 1614–84, Flemish portrait painter, active in Antwerp and England. He excelled in painting diminutive portraits and family groups of the aristocrac...