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Gilbert, Sir Humphrey

(Encyclopedia)Gilbert, Sir Humphrey, 1537?–1583, English soldier, navigator, and explorer; half-brother of Sir Walter Raleigh. Knighted (1570) for his service in the campaigns in Ireland, he later (1572) served i...

Foote, Andrew Hull

(Encyclopedia)Foote, Andrew Hull fo͝ot [key], 1806–63, American naval officer, b. New Haven, Conn.; son of Samuel Augustus Foot. He became a midshipman in 1822. As executive officer of the Cumberland (1843–45)...

Gaspee

(Encyclopedia)Gaspee găsˈpēˌ [key], British revenue cutter, burned (June 10, 1772) at Namquit (now Gaspee) Point in the present-day city of Warwick on the western shore of Narragansett Bay, R.I. The vessel arri...

Newton, John

(Encyclopedia)Newton, John, 1725–1807, English clergyman and hymn writer, b. London. Until 1755, his life was spent chiefly at sea, where he eventually became the captain of a slave ship plying the waters between...

Pasadena

(Encyclopedia)Pasadena păsˌədēˈnə [key]. 1 City (1990 pop. 131,591), Los Angeles co., S Calif., at the base of the San Gabriel Mts.; inc. 1866. The city is a research and technological center with manufacture...

Asian carp

(Encyclopedia)Asian carp, term for several large, hardy freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae (the minnow family) that are native to E Asia and have become invasive species in the United States. The fish, which ...

Larkin, Philip

(Encyclopedia)Larkin, Philip, 1922–85, English poet. He graduated from St. John's College, Oxford (B.A., 1943; M.A., 1947) and was for many years librarian at the Univ. of Hull. With an eye for the ordinary and a...

Biloxi

(Encyclopedia)Biloxi bĭlŭkˈsē [key], city (2020 pop. 49,449), Harrison co., SE Miss., on a peninsula be...

Bering, Vitus Jonassen

(Encyclopedia)Bering, Vitus Jonassen vēˈto͝os yōˈnäsən bārˈĭng [key], 1681–1741, Danish explorer in Russian employ. In 1725 he was selected by Peter I to explore far NE Siberia. Having finally moved men...

ransom

(Encyclopedia)ransom, price of redemption demanded by the captor of a person, vessel, or city. In ancient times cities frequently paid ransom to prevent their plundering by captors. The custom of ransoming was form...