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Alexander II, czar of Russia

(Encyclopedia)Alexander II, 1818–81, czar of Russia (1855–81), son and successor of Nicholas I. He ascended the throne during the Crimean War (1853–56) and immediately set about negotiating a peace (see Paris...

Prado, Mariano Ignacio

(Encyclopedia)Prado, Mariano Ignacio märyäˈnō ēgnäˈsyō präˈᵺō [key], 1826–1901, president of Peru (1865–67, 1878–79). He aided Ramón Castilla in the revolution of 1854. Indignant at the treaty t...

Ibrahim Pasha

(Encyclopedia)Ibrahim Pasha ēbrähēmˈ päˈshä [key], 1789–1848, Egyptian general. He was the eldest son of Muhammad Ali, governor of Egypt under the Ottoman Empire. Ibrahim conducted (1816–19) largely succ...

Mongkut

(Encyclopedia)Mongkut rämˈə [key], 1804–68, king of Siam, now Thailand (1851–68). A devout Buddhist monk, he was displaced in succession to the throne by his brother, who ascended as Rama III. Mongkut became...

swan

(Encyclopedia)swan, common name for a large aquatic bird of both hemispheres, related to ducks and geese. It has a long, gracefully curved neck and an extremely long, convoluted trachea which makes possible its far...

Rio Grande, river, United States and Mexico

(Encyclopedia)Rio Grande rēˈō grănd, rēˈō gränˈdē [key], river, c.1,885 mi (3,000 km) long, rising in SW Colo. in the San Juan Mts. and flowing south through the middle of N.Mex., past Albuquerque, then c...

Schimper, Karl Friedric

(Encyclopedia)Schimper, Karl Friedric shĭmˈpər [key], 1803–67, German botanist. He did important work in plant morphology and originated the theory, called phyllotaxis, that there is a fixed order to the arran...

Carboniferous period

(Encyclopedia)Carboniferous period kärbənĭfˈərəs [key], fifth period of the Paleozoic era of geologic time (see Geologic Timescale, tablegeologic timescale, table), from 350 to 290 million years ago. The pl...

Kizil Irmak

(Encyclopedia)Kizil Irmak kəzŭlˈ ərmäkˈ [key], anc. Halys, longest river of Turkey, c.715 mi (1,150 km) long, rising in the Kizil Dağ, N central Turkey, and flowing in a wide arc SW, then N, and then NE into...

Marshall, George Catlett

(Encyclopedia)Marshall, George Catlett, 1880–1959, American general and cabinet member, b. Uniontown, Pa. A career army officer, Marshall graduated from the Virginia Military Institute. He first distinguished him...