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Becker, Carl Lotus

(Encyclopedia)Becker, Carl Lotus, 1873–1945, American historian, b. Blackhawk co., Iowa. He taught history at Dartmouth College (1901–2), at the Univ. of Kansas (1902–16), and at Cornell (1917–41). After re...

Sismondi, Jean Charles Léonard Simonde de

(Encyclopedia)Sismondi, Jean Charles Léonard Simonde de zhäN shärl lāônärˈ sēmôNdˈ də sēsmôNdēˈ [key], 1773–1842, Swiss historian, economist, and critic. A member of the circle of Mme de Staël, he...

Ruysbroeck, John

(Encyclopedia)Ruysbroeck, John, Dutch Jan van Ruusbroec yän vän roisˈbro͞ok [key], 1293–1381, Roman Catholic mystic, b. Brabant (now in Belgium and the Netherlands). He was an Augustinian canon. In middle age...

Carrington, Henry Beebee

(Encyclopedia)Carrington, Henry Beebee, 1824–1912, U.S. army officer and historian, b. Wallingford, Conn., grad. Yale, 1845, and afterward studied at Yale Law School. Carrington ably reorganized the Ohio state mi...

Carroll, Charles

(Encyclopedia)Carroll, Charles, 1737–1832, political leader in the American Revolution, signer of the Declaration of Independence, b. Annapolis, Md. After completing his education in France and England, he return...

proverb

(Encyclopedia)proverb, short statement of wisdom or advice that has passed into general use. More homely than aphorisms, proverbs generally refer to common experience and are often expressed in metaphor, alliterati...

Dias, Antônio Gonçalves

(Encyclopedia)Dias, Antônio Gonçalves əntôˈnyo͝o go͝onsälˈvəs dēˈəs [key], 1823–64, Brazilian poet and dramatist. A leading writer of the romantic school, he is noted for his strong nativist feeling ...

Abd ar-Rahman III, emir and caliph of Córdoba

(Encyclopedia)Abd ar-Rahman III, 891–961, Umayyad emir (912–29) and first caliph (929–61) of Córdoba. When he succeeded to the throne, the Spanish emirate was reduced to Córdoba and its environs and beset w...

fiberglass

(Encyclopedia)fiberglass, thread made from glass. It is made by forcing molten glass through a kind of sieve, thereby spinning it into threads. Fiberglass is strong, durable, and impervious to many caustics and to ...

amide

(Encyclopedia)amide ămˈīd [key], organic compound formed by reaction of an acid chloride, acid anhydride, or ester with an amine. Under strong acidic conditions an amide can be hydrolyzed to yield an amine and a...