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Al-Biruni, Abu Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad

(Encyclopedia)Al-Biruni or Al Beruni, Abu Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad äbo͞oˈ rīhänˈ məhămˈĭd ĭbˈən äˈməd ăl-bēro͞oˈnē, ăl bĕro͞oˈnē [key], b. 973, d. after 1050, Central Asian scientist. His...

Chersonese

(Encyclopedia)Chersonese –nēˈsəs [key] [Gr.,=peninsula], name applied in ancient geography to several regions. See Crimea (Chersonesus Taurica or Scythia); Gallipoli Peninsula (Chersonesus Thracica); Malay Pen...

Gleason, Henry Allan

(Encyclopedia)Gleason, Henry Allan glēˈsən [key], 1882–1975, American botanist, plant geographer, and plant ecologist. His floristic studies of North American vegetation led to his “individualistic concept o...

Levasseur, Émile

(Encyclopedia)Levasseur, Émile (Pierre Émile Levasseur) pyĕr āmēlˈ lüväsörˈ [key], 1828–1911, French economist. He was noted especially for his historical approach to the study of economics. He studied ...

Scoresby, William

(Encyclopedia)Scoresby, William skôrzˈbē [key], 1789–1857, English arctic explorer and scientist. He made yearly voyages (1803–22) to Greenland, at first on his father's whaler, later as captain on other shi...

Confederacy

(Encyclopedia)Confederacy, name commonly given to the Confederate States of America (1861–65), the government established by the Southern states of the United States after their secession from the Union. (For the...

King, William Rufus Devane

(Encyclopedia)King, William Rufus Devane, 1786–1853, U.S. Senator from Alabama (1819–44, 1848–52), b. Sampson co., N.C. A Democratic Congressman from North Carolina (1811–16), he settled (1818) in Alabama a...

Campbell, William

(Encyclopedia)Campbell, William, 1745–81, American Revolutionary soldier, b. Augusta co., Va.; brother-in-law of Patrick Henry. He fought in Lord Dunmore's War (1774) and helped expel the royal governor from Will...

Burns, Otway

(Encyclopedia)Burns, Otway, c.1775–1850, American privateer, b. Onslow co., N.C. At the outbreak of the War of 1812, he outfitted the Baltimore clipper Snap-Dragon as a privateer and began one of the most spectac...

Biddle, Clement

(Encyclopedia)Biddle, Clement, 1740–1814, American Revolutionary soldier, b. Philadelphia. Early in the war, he helped organize the “Quaker Blues,” a company of volunteers. He later served as deputy quarterma...