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Reynaud, Paul

(Encyclopedia)Reynaud, Paul pōl rānōˈ [key], 1878–1966, French statesman and lawyer. He held several cabinet posts, and after Nov., 1938, as minister of finance in the cabinet of Édouard Daladier, he pursued...

rheostat

(Encyclopedia)rheostat rēˈəstătˌ [key], device whose resistance to electric current depends on the position of some mechanical element or control in the device. Typically a rheostat consists of a resistance el...

Quincy, Josiah, 1744–75, political leader in the American Revolution

(Encyclopedia)Quincy, Josiah kwĭnˈzē [key], 1744–75, political leader in the American Revolution, b. Boston. An outstanding lawyer, he wrote a series of anonymous articles for the Boston Gazette in which he op...

Pond, Peter

(Encyclopedia)Pond, Peter, 1740–1807, American fur trader and explorer of the Old Northwest, b. Milford, Conn. He served in the French and Indian War and in 1765 became a western trader from Detroit. He later rem...

Pontine Marshes

(Encyclopedia)Pontine Marshes pŏnˈtēn, –tīn [key], Ital. Pontina, low-lying region, c.300 sq mi (780 sq km), in S Latium, central Italy, between the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Apennine foothills; it is crossed by...

Orléans, Henri Philippe Marie, prince d'

(Encyclopedia)Orléans, Henri Philippe Marie, prince d' dôrlāäNˈ [key], 1867–1901, French explorer and author, b. England; son of Robert, duke of Chartres. After a journey (1889) from Siberia to Siam, by way...

bellows

(Encyclopedia)bellows, expansible, gas-tight chamber used to pump or store a gas. One of the simplest and most familiar types of bellows is the manual one used for providing a forced draft to a fire. The expansible...

Vigilius

(Encyclopedia)Vigilius vĭjĭlˈēəs [key], pope (537–55), a Roman; successor of St. Silverius. Empress Theodora exiled Silverius and made Vigilius pope in the expectation that he would compromise with the Monop...

X-ray astronomy

(Encyclopedia)X-ray astronomy, study of celestial objects by means of the X rays they emit, in the wavelength range from 0.01 to 10 nanometers. X-ray astronomy dates to 1949 with the discovery that the sun emits X ...

Dickinson, Edwin Walter

(Encyclopedia)Dickinson, Edwin Walter, 1891–1978, American painter, b. Seneca Falls, N.Y. He studied in New York City with William Merritt Chase, and spent most of his life on Cape Cod. Working during the moderni...