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Virginius affair

(Encyclopedia)Virginius affair, 1873, incident that came near to causing war between the United States and Spain. The Virginius, a filibustering ship, was fraudulently flying the American flag and carrying arms to ...

Bligh, William

(Encyclopedia)Bligh, William blī [key], 1754–1817, British admiral. He is chiefly remembered for the mutiny (1789) on his ship, the Bounty, but he had a long and notable career. He was sailing master on Capt. Ja...

radio range

(Encyclopedia)radio range, geographically fixed radio transmitter that radiates coded signals in all directions to enable aircraft and ships to determine their bearings. An aircraft or ship can determine its line o...

Adramyttium

(Encyclopedia)Adramyttium ădˌrəmĭtˈēəm [key], place, the modern Edremit, NW Turkey. According to the Acts of the Apostles, St. Paul's ship was built here. ...

loran

(Encyclopedia)loran lôrˈănˌ [key], long-range, accurate radio navigational system used by a ship or aircraft to confirm or to determine its geographical position. The term loran is derived from the words long-r...

salvage

(Encyclopedia)salvage, in maritime law, the compensation that the owner must pay for having his vessel or cargo saved from peril, such as shipwreck, fire, or capture by an enemy. Salvage is awarded only when the pa...

Borough, Stephen

(Encyclopedia)Borough, Stephen bûrˈō, bŭˈrō [key], 1525–84, English navigator. Under the direction of Richard Chancellor he was master of the Edward Bonaventure, the first ship to round (1553) North Cape an...

mirage

(Encyclopedia)mirage mĭräzhˈ [key], atmospheric optical illusion in which an observer sees in the distance a nonexistent body of water or an image, sometimes distorted, of some object or of a complete scene. Exa...

Charlestown, town, St. Kitts-Nevis

(Encyclopedia)Charlestown, town on the island of Nevis, St. Kitts and Nevis, West Indies. Charlestown is the chief town and port of the island. Sugar processing is th...

Portage Lake

(Encyclopedia)Portage Lake, inlet of Keweenaw Bay, c.20 mi (32 km) long and 2 mi (3.2 km) wide, N Mich., indenting the southeast shore of Keweenaw peninsula. An old portage route connected it with Lake Superior, an...