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corundum

(Encyclopedia)corundum kərŭnˈdəm [key], mineral, aluminum oxide, Al2O3. The clear varieties are used as gems and the opaque as abrasive materials. Corundum occurs in crystals of the hexagonal system and in mass...

Fagan, Garth

(Encyclopedia)Fagan, Garth, 1940–, Jamaican-American dancer and choreographer. He studied with Ivy Baxter and left Jamaica to dance with her company. Settling (1960) in Detroit, he attended Wayne State Univ. (gra...

Faidherbe, Louis Léon César

(Encyclopedia)Faidherbe, Louis Léon César lwē lāôNˈ sāzärˈ fādĕrbˈ [key], 1818–89, French colonial administrator. He was a leading participant in the establishment of the French colonial empire in Afr...

Polke, Sigmar

(Encyclopedia)Polke, Sigmar, 1941–2011, innovative German artist best known for his paintings and photography. His family immigrated from East to West Germany in 1953, and he lived in Düsseldorf, studying (1961�...

Turrell, James

(Encyclopedia)Turrell, James, 1943–, American installation and land artist, b. Los Angeles, grad. Pomona College (B.A., 1965), Claremont Graduate School (M.F.A., 1973). Turrell's career began in the 1960s art sce...

Rivlin, Alice M.

(Encyclopedia)Rivlin, Alice M., 1931–2019, American economist, b. Philadelphia as Georgianna Alice Mitchell, Ph.D. Harvard, 1958. Rivlin was affiliated with the Brookings Institution at various times from 1957 un...

nitroglycerin

(Encyclopedia)nitroglycerin nīˌtrōglĭsˈərĭn [key], C3H5N3O9, colorless, oily, highly explosive liquid. It is the nitric acid triester of glycerol and is more correctly called glycerol trinitrate. It is insol...

avocet

(Encyclopedia)avocet ăvˈəsĕt [key], common name for a long-legged wading bird about 15 to 18 in. (37.5–45 cm) long, related to the snipe and belonging to the same family as the stilt. The American avocet or b...

Woolley, Sir Charles Leonard

(Encyclopedia)Woolley, Sir Charles Leonard, 1880–1960, English archaeologist. His early work included excavations at Carchemish (1912–14) and the Egyptian site of Tell el Amarna (1921–22). He was then chosen ...

Stratford de Redcliffe, Stratford Canning, Viscount

(Encyclopedia)Stratford de Redcliffe, Stratford Canning, Viscount, 1786–1880, British diplomat. He entered (1807) the foreign office under the aegis of his cousin, George Canning. Sent (1808) to Turkey, he negoti...