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Olmsted, Frederick Law

(Encyclopedia)Olmsted, Frederick Law, 1822–1903, American landscape architect and writer, b. Hartford, Conn. Although his Walks and Talks of an American Farmer in England had appeared in 1852, Olmsted first attai...

stratosphere

(Encyclopedia)stratosphere strătˈəsfēr [key], second lowest layer of the earth's atmosphere. The level from which it extends outward varies with latitude; it begins c.51⁄2 mi (9 km) above the poles, c.6 or 7 ...

Bienville, Jean Baptiste le Moyne, sieur de

(Encyclopedia)Bienville, Jean Baptiste le Moyne, sieur de zhäN bätēstˈ lə mwän syör də byăNvēlˈ [key], 1680–1768, colonizer and governor of Louisiana, b. Ville Marie (on the site of Montreal), Canada; ...

James, Cyril Lionel Robert

(Encyclopedia)James, C. L. R., 1901–1989, Trinidadian historian, journalist, and communist activist, b. Tunapuna, Trinidad and Tobago. A social theorist, anti-colon...

lacrosse

(Encyclopedia)lacrosse ləkrôsˈ [key], ball and goal game usually played outdoors by two teams of 10 players each on a field 60 to 70 yd (54.86 to 64.01 m) wide by 110 yd (100.58 m) long. Two goals face each othe...

Saint Lawrence Seaway

(Encyclopedia)Saint Lawrence Seaway, international waterway, 2,342 mi (3,769 km) long, consisting of a system of canals, dams, and locks in the St. Lawrence River and connecting channels between the Great Lakes; op...

Rogers, Robert

(Encyclopedia)Rogers, Robert, 1731–95, American frontiersman, b. Methuen, Mass. As a child he moved with his family to the New Hampshire frontier. In King George's War (1744–48) he served briefly as a scout. In...

apartment house

(Encyclopedia)apartment house, building having three or more dwelling units. Numerous early examples of this form of dwelling have been found in remains of Roman and medieval cities and in the 17th-cent. Pueblo vil...

Allen, Ethan

(Encyclopedia)Allen, Ethan, 1738–89, hero of the American Revolution, leader of the Green Mountain Boys, and promoter of the independence and statehood of Vermont, b. Litchfield (?), Conn. He had some schooling a...

circus

(Encyclopedia)circus [Lat.,=ring, circle], historically, the arena associated with the horse and chariot races and athletic contests known in ancient Rome as the Circensian games. The Roman circus was a round or ov...