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Matthiessen, Peter

(Encyclopedia)Matthiessen, Peter măthˈəsən [key], American writer, naturalist, and adventurer, b. New York City, grad. Yale (1950). A founder (1951) of the literary Paris Review, he published his first novel, R...

Île-de-France, region, France

(Encyclopedia)Île-de-France ēl-də-fräNs [key], region and former province, N central France, in the center of the Paris basin, a fertile depression where the Marne and Ouse rivers join the Seine. Containing par...

Petraeus, David Howell

(Encyclopedia)Petraeus, David Howell pĕtrāˈəs [key], 1952–, American military officer and government official, b. Cornwall, N.Y., studied West Point (B.S., 1974), U.S. Army Command and General Staff College (...

Bhopal

(Encyclopedia)Bhopal bōˈpäl [key], former principality, Madhya Pradesh state, central India. A region of rolling downs and thickly forested hills, it is predominantly agricultural. Its Buddhist monuments include...

Menomonie

(Encyclopedia)Menomonie mənŏmˈənē [key], city (1990 pop. 13,547), seat of Dunn co., W Wis., on the Red Cedar River; platted 1859, inc. 1882. Once a lumber town, it is a trade center in an area of poultry and d...

Mansfield, city and district, England

(Encyclopedia)Mansfield, city (71,325) and district, Nottinghamshire, central England, on the western border of Sherwood Forest. The city lies in a coal district, with manufactures of hosiery, shoes, and metal prod...

Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

(Encyclopedia)Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse əpŏkˈəlĭps [key], allegorical figures in the Book of Revelation in the Bible. The rider on the white horse has many interpretations—one is that he represents Chr...

Shur

(Encyclopedia)Shur shŭr [key], landmark of the Egyptian border N of the Red Sea, also called the Wilderness of Shur. In the Bible it is associated with the the wandering of Hagar, the journeying of Abraham, the se...

Richthofen, Manfred, Baron von

(Encyclopedia)Richthofen, Manfred, Baron von mänˈfrāt [key], 1892–1918, German aviator in World War I. He was credited with the spectacular achievement of shooting down 80 aircraft; he was killed in action on ...

Vrindaban

(Encyclopedia)Vrindaban vrĭnˌdəbŭnˈ [key], formerly Brindaban, town, Uttar Pradesh state, central India, on the Yamuna River. Legends about the youth of the Hindu god Krishna center about the town, which is a ...