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Forster, Johann Reinhold

(Encyclopedia)Forster, Johann Reinhold, 1729–98, German naturalist and teacher. His Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society (1772–73) on zoology, ornithology, and ichthyology established him as one of t...

Strafford, Thomas Wentworth, 1st earl of

(Encyclopedia)Strafford, Thomas Wentworth, 1st earl of, 1593–1641, English statesman. Regularly elected to Parliament from 1614 on, he became one of the critics of George Villiers, 1st duke of Buckingham, and of ...

Clapperton, Hugh

(Encyclopedia)Clapperton, Hugh, 1788–1827, British explorer, b. Annan, Scotland. After serving with the British navy in East India and Canada he made two journeys to W Africa. On the initial journey (1822–25) h...

Suk, Josef

(Encyclopedia)Suk, Josef yôˈzĕf so͝ok [key], 1874–1935, Czech composer and violinist, grad. Prague Conservatory, 1891; pupil and son-in-law of Dvořák. While still at the Prague Conservatory, he and three of...

Esdras

(Encyclopedia)Esdras ĕzˈdrəs [key] [Gr. from Heb. Ezra], name of several books found in the Old Testament Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha. The New Revised Standard Version (following the Authorized Version) maintai...

Dana, Francis

(Encyclopedia)Dana, Francis, 1743–1811, American diplomat, b. Charlestown, Mass. Son of a prominent lawyer, he was himself a lawyer. He went as a colonial agent to England, then served as a delegate to the Massac...

Costa, António Luís Santos da

(Encyclopedia)Costa, António Luís Santos da, 1961–, Portuguese lawyer and political leader, b. Lisbon. A Socialist, he served on Lisbon's municipal council in the 1980s, then in the national assembly (1991–20...

Ishii, Kikujiro

(Encyclopedia)Ishii, Kikujiro kēˌko͞oˌjērōˈĭshēˈ [key], 1865–1945, Japanese career diplomat. He entered the foreign ministry after graduating from Tokyo Univ. with a degree in English law. In 1907–8 h...

Joint Chiefs of Staff

(Encyclopedia)Joint Chiefs of Staff, U.S. statutory agency, created in 1949 within the Dept. of Defense. The chairman is the principal military adviser to the President, the National Security Council, and the Secre...

Mazurov, Kiril

(Encyclopedia)Mazurov, Kiril kĭrēlˈ mäzo͞oˈrôf [key], 1914–89, Soviet political leader. A construction technician, he joined the Communist party in 1940, and was active in the Communist youth organization....