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Williams, Hank

(Encyclopedia)Williams, Hank, 1923–53, American country singer and songwriter, b. near Georgiana, Ala., as Hiram Williams. He is widely regarded as the leading figure in the history of country music (see country ...

Homer

(Encyclopedia)Homer, principal figure of ancient Greek literature; the first European poet. The Odyssey is written in 24 books and begins nearly ten years after the fall of Troy. In the first part, Telemachus, Od...

Puerto Plata

(Encyclopedia)Puerto Plata, city (1993 pop. 85,042), N Dominican Republic, on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the major northern port of the country, serving Santiago de los Caballeros and other inland towns. Dairy and c...

Japanese flowering cherry

(Encyclopedia)Japanese flowering cherry, any of a variety of flowering cherry species native to East Asia. ...

Parmenion

(Encyclopedia)Parmenion pärmēˈnēən [key], d. 330 b.c., Macedonian general. He served under Philip II. On Philip's death Parmenion was largely responsible for the adherence of the army in Asia to Alexander the ...

Buckinghamshire

(Encyclopedia)Buckinghamshire bŭkˈĭng-əmshĭr [key], Buckingham, or Bucks, county (2020 est. pop. 817,0...

Uzbekistan

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Uzbekistan o͝ozbĕkĭstänˈ [key], Uzbek Ozbekiston, officially Republic of Uzbekistan, republic (2015 est. pop. 29,200,000), 173,552 sq mi (449,500 sq km), central Asia. The republic, which ...

Atkins, Chet

(Encyclopedia)Atkins, Chet (Chester Burton Atkins), 1924–2001, American country guitarist, singer, and record company executive, b. Luttrell, Tenn. Part of a musical family, he played fiddle and guitar as a young...

Mesopotamia

(Encyclopedia)Mesopotamia mĕsˌəpətāˈmēə [key] [Gr.,=between rivers], ancient region of Asia, the territory about the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, included in modern Iraq. The region extends from the Persian...

Turkistan

(Encyclopedia)Turkistan or Turkestan both: tûrkˌĭstănˈ, –stänˈ [key], historic region of central Asia. Western, or Russian, Turkistan extended from the Caspian Sea in the west to the Chinese frontier in th...