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Ratzel, Friedrich

(Encyclopedia)Ratzel, Friedrich frēˈdrĭkh rätˈsəl [key], 1844–1904, German geographer. He traveled as a journalist in Europe (1869) and in Cuba, Mexico, and the United States (1872–75). Thereafter he devo...

Semple, Ellen Churchill

(Encyclopedia)Semple, Ellen Churchill, 1863–1932, American geographer, b. Louisville, Ky., grad. Vassar, 1882, and studied at the Univ. of Leipzig. A follower of the German geographer Friedrich Ratzel, she helped...

zone

(Encyclopedia)zone [Gr.,=girdle], in geography, area with a certain physical and/or cultural unity that distinguishes it from other areas. The division of the earth into five climatic zones probably originated (5th...

Spartanburg

(Encyclopedia)Spartanburg, city (1990 pop. 43,467), seat of Spartanburg co., NW S.C., in the Piedmont (see under piedmont) near the N.C. line; inc. 1831. The city is noted for its textile production. It is an impor...

Ruffin, Edmund

(Encyclopedia)Ruffin, Edmund rŭfˈĭn [key], 1794–1865, American agriculturist, one of the Southern fire-eaters, b. Prince George co., Va. His interest in improving impoverished land led him to become a pioneer ...

Catawba, indigenous people of North America

(Encyclopedia)Catawba kətôˈbə [key], Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Siouan branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). They have for centuries occupied a r...

Quincy, Josiah, 1744–75, political leader in the American Revolution

(Encyclopedia)Quincy, Josiah kwĭnˈzē [key], 1744–75, political leader in the American Revolution, b. Boston. An outstanding lawyer, he wrote a series of anonymous articles for the Boston Gazette in which he op...

Pinckney, Charles Cotesworth

(Encyclopedia)Pinckney, Charles Cotesworth, 1746–1825, American political leader and diplomat, b. Charleston, S.C.; brother of Thomas Pinckney and cousin of Charles Pinckney. After attending Oxford and the milita...

Pachelbel, Johann

(Encyclopedia)Pachelbel, Johann päkhĕlˈbĕl, päkhˈəlbĕlˌ [key], 1653–1706, German organist and composer, b. Nuremberg. He held a number of posts as an organist in German churches, returning to his birthpl...

Cherokee, indigenous people of North America

(Encyclopedia)Cherokee chĕrˈəkē [key], largest Native American group in the United States. Formerly the largest and most important tribe in the Southeast, they occupied mountain areas of North and South Carolin...