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Wen Jiabao

(Encyclopedia)Wen Jiabao wĕnˈ jyäˈbouˈ [key], 1942–, Chinese political leader, b. Tianjin. Originally a geologist, he worked for the Gansu provincial geological bureau (1968–82), where he was the head of i...

Blücher, Vasily Konstantinovich

(Encyclopedia)Blücher, Vasily Konstantinovich blüˈkhər [key], 1889–1937?, Russian general. An enlisted man in the czarist army, Blücher joined the Bolshevik party in 1916. He rose to high command in the civ...

Balfour, Sir James

(Encyclopedia)Balfour, Sir James, d. 1583, Scottish judge and politician. Captured (1547) at St. Andrews after the murder of Cardinal Beaton, he served a sentence in the French galleys and on his release (1549) abj...

beryl

(Encyclopedia)beryl bĕrˈĭl [key], mineral, a silicate of beryllium and aluminum, Be3Al2Si6O18, extremely hard, occurring in hexagonal crystals that may be of enormous size and are usually white, yellow, green, b...

Rocky Mountain spotted fever

(Encyclopedia)Rocky Mountain spotted fever, infectious disease caused by a rickettsia. The bacterium is harbored by wild rodents and other animals and is carried by infected ticks of several species that attach the...

Roland de la Platière, Jean Marie

(Encyclopedia)Roland de la Platière, Jean Marie zhäN märēˈ rôläNˈ də lä plätyĕrˈ [key], 1734–93, French revolutionary. An inspector general of commerce at Rouen and Amiens, he went to Paris in 1791 a...

Pickens, Andrew

(Encyclopedia)Pickens, Andrew, 1739–1817, American Revolutionary soldier, b. near Paxtang, Pa. He moved (1752) to South Carolina and took part (1761) in frontier warfare against the Cherokee. During the American ...

Bagaza, Jean-Baptiste

(Encyclopedia)Bagaza, Jean-Baptiste zhäN-bätēstˈ bägäzäˈ [key], 1946–2016, Burundian army officer and political leader. An ethnic Tutsi, he was educated at Belgian military schools, rose through the ranks...

redbud

(Encyclopedia)redbud or Judas tree, name for trees and shrubs of the genus Cercis, handsome plants of the family Leguminosae (pulse family), covered along the branches in the early spring with deep rose or (rarely)...

Séguier, Pierre, duc de Villemor

(Encyclopedia)Séguier, Pierre, duc de Villemor pyĕr sāgyāˈ dük də vēlmôrˈ [key], 1588–1672, chancellor of France. Beginning as counselor to the Parlement of Paris, he rose to become chancellor in 1635. ...