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state of emergency

(Encyclopedia)state of emergency, situation in which a government or a government body is empowered to act with enhanced powers in order to respond to a crisis. The enhanced or emergency powers, and in many cases i...

stimulant

(Encyclopedia)stimulant, any substance that causes an increase in activity in various parts of the nervous system or directly increases muscle activity. Cerebral, or psychic, stimulants act on the central nervous s...

disk plow

(Encyclopedia)disk plow or disk, farm implement employing a row or rows of concave circular steel disks that cut and pitch the soil in a way somewhat similar to a moldboard plow. It can be used in many situations w...

Donald, David Herbert

(Encyclopedia)Donald, David Herbert, 1920–2009, American historian, b. Goodman, Miss. After receiving his Ph.D. from the Univ. of Illinois in 1946, he taught at Columbia (1947–49; 1951–59), Smith (1949–51),...

Millar, John

(Encyclopedia)Millar, John, 1735–1801, Scottish philosopher and historian. Millar studied at Glasgow, where he became the chief disciple of Adam Smith. In 1761 Millar became professor of civil law at Glasgow, and...

L'Engle, Madeleine

(Encyclopedia)L'Engle, Madeleine, 1918–2007, American writer, b. New York City, grad. Smith College, 1941. A devout Episcopalian, L'Engle served as librarian and writer-in-residence at the Cathedral Church of St....

planter

(Encyclopedia)planter, farm or garden implement that places propagating material such as seeds or seedlings into the ground, usually in rows. Broadcasting, i.e., scattering seed in all directions, by hand followed ...

Buchan, John, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir

(Encyclopedia)Buchan, John, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir bŭkˈən, twēdzˈmyo͞or [key], 1875–1940, Scottish author and statesman. Included among his works are a history (4 vol., 1921–22) of World War I; biographies ...

Bush, Barbara

(Encyclopedia)Bush, Barbara, 1925–2018, b. New York City as Barbara Pierce; wife of George H. W. Bush and mother of George W. Bush. She studied briefly at Smith College before marrying (1945); the Bushes ultimate...

Borgese, Giuseppe Antonio

(Encyclopedia)Borgese, Giuseppe Antonio jo͞ozĕpˈpā äntōˈnyō bōrjāˈzā [key], 1882–1952, Italian-American author, b. near Palermo, Ph.D. Univ. of Florence, 1903. From 1910 to 1931 he taught at the unive...