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Derby, Elias Hasket

(Encyclopedia)Derby, Elias Hasket dûrˈbē [key], 1739–99, American merchant, b. Salem, Mass. He inherited the considerable wealth and maritime business that his father, Richard Derby (1712–83), also of Salem,...

America, in music

(Encyclopedia)America, in music, a patriotic hymn of the United States. The words (beginning “My country, 'tis of thee”) were written in 1832 by Samuel Francis Smith while he was a theological student in Andove...

Sandwich, Edward Montagu, 1st earl of

(Encyclopedia)Sandwich, Edward Montagu, 1st earl of mŏnˈtəgyo͞o [key], 1625–72, English admiral. He fought in the parliamentary army during the civil war, became (1653) a member of the council of state of the...

Nujoma, Sam

(Encyclopedia)Nujoma, Sam (Samuel Daniel Shafiishuna Nujoma) no͞oyōˈmä [key], 1929–, Namibian political leader. A railway worker in what was then the South African mandate of South West Africa, Nujoma became ...

Bourbaki, Nicolas

(Encyclopedia)Bourbaki, Nicolas, pseudonym under which a group of 20th cent. mathematicians has written a series of treatises on pure mathematics. The mathematicians have all been associated with the Ecole Normale ...

Bowles, Chester Bliss

(Encyclopedia)Bowles, Chester Bliss bōlz [key], 1901–86, U.S. public official, b. Springfield, Mass.; grandson of Samuel Bowles (1851–1915). At first a journalist and an advertising man, Bowles was later (1942...

Strauss, David Friedrich

(Encyclopedia)Strauss, David Friedrich däˈvēt frēˈdrĭkh shtrous [key], 1808–74, German theologian and philosopher. In Berlin he studied (1831–32) Hegelian philosophy. As tutor at Tübingen he lectured on ...

bolometer

(Encyclopedia)bolometer bōlŏmˈətər, bə– [key], instrument for detecting and measuring radiation, e.g., visible light, infrared radiation, and ultraviolet radiation, in amounts as small as one millionth of a...

satire

(Encyclopedia)satire, term applied to any work of literature or art whose objective is ridicule. It is more easily recognized than defined. From ancient times satirists have shared a common aim: to expose foolishne...

Lake District

(Encyclopedia)Lake District, region of mountains and lakes, c.30 mi (50 km) in diameter, Cumbria, NW England. It includes the Cumbrian Mts. and part of the Furness peninsula. The district comprises 15 lakes, among ...