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MacCracken, Henry Mitchell

(Encyclopedia)MacCracken, Henry Mitchell, 1840–1918, American educator, b. Oxford, Ohio, grad. Miami Univ. (Ohio), 1857. After a brief teaching career MacCracken entered the Presbyterian ministry in 1863. From 18...

biosphere

(Encyclopedia)biosphere, irregularly shaped envelope of the earth's air, water, and land encompassing the heights and depths at which living things exist. The biosphere is a closed and self-regulating system (see e...

Knox, Henry

(Encyclopedia)Knox, Henry, 1750–1806, American Revolutionary officer, b. Boston. He volunteered for service and went, in 1775, to Ticonderoga to retrieve the captured cannon and mortar there for use in the siege ...

Broder, David Salzer

(Encyclopedia)Broder, David Salzer, 1929n–2011, American journalist, b. Chicago Heights, Ill., grad. Univ. of Chicago (1947). Noted for measured and incisive political analysis, Broder worked for several newpaper...

Mott, Lucretia Coffin

(Encyclopedia)Mott, Lucretia Coffin, 1793–1880, American feminist and reformer, b. Nantucket, Mass. She moved (1804) with her family to Boston and later (1809) to Philadelphia. A Quaker, she studied and taught at...

Auerbach, Berthold

(Encyclopedia)Auerbach, Berthold bĕrtˈhōlt ouˈərbäkhˌ [key], 1812–82, German novelist. He fought in the Revolution of 1848 and in the Franco-Prussian War. As a result of his Schwarzwälder Dorfgeschichten ...

McHenry, James

(Encyclopedia)McHenry, James, 1753–1816, American political leader, b. Ireland. He emigrated to Philadelphia in 1771 and, after studying medicine under Benjamin Rush, served as a surgeon in the Continental Army i...

Plaza Lasso, Galo

(Encyclopedia)Plaza Lasso, Galo gäˈlō pläˈ sä läˈsō [key], 1906–87, president of Ecuador (1948–52) and secretary-general of the Organization of American States (OAS; 1968–75), b. New York City. He se...

catchment area

(Encyclopedia)catchment area or drainage basin, area drained by a stream or other body of water. The limits of a given catchment area are the heights of land—often called drainage divides, or watersheds—separat...

Brock, Sir Isaac

(Encyclopedia)Brock, Sir Isaac, 1769–1812, British general, Canadian hero of the War of 1812. A British army officer, he was sent to Canada in 1802 and was given command (1806) of Upper and Lower Canada. He stren...