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Patrick, Deval Laurdine

(Encyclopedia)Patrick, Deval Laurdine, 1956–, African-American politician and government official, b. Chicago, grad. Harvard 1978, Harvard Law School 1982. A lawyer with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund from 1983 to ...

North Little Rock

(Encyclopedia)North Little Rock, city (1990 pop. 61,741), Pulaski co., central Ark., on the Arkansas River opposite Little Rock; settled c.1856, inc. as a city 1903. North Little Rock lies in a cotton, rice, soybea...

spoonbill

(Encyclopedia)spoonbill, common name for a large wading bird related to the ibis. It has a long bill with a tip like a flattened spoon, with which it captures small aquatic animals. The roseate spoonbill, Ajaia aja...

boat-billed heron

(Encyclopedia)boat-billed heron or boatbill, a tropical New World heron, Chochlearius chochlearius. With shorter legs and a squatter appearance than most herons, this bird is remarkable chiefly for its broad bill, ...

Wentworth, William Charles

(Encyclopedia)Wentworth, William Charles, 1793?–1872, Australian statesman. His exploration (1813) of the Blue Mts. in Australia revealed vast pasturelands in the western part of the continent. In 1816 he went to...

kiwi

(Encyclopedia)kiwi ăpˈtərĭks [key], common name for the smallest member of an order of primitive flightless birds related to the ostrich, the emu, and the cassowary. The kiwi, named by the Maoris for its shrill...

Coolidge, Calvin

(Encyclopedia)Coolidge, Calvin, 1872–1933, 30th President of the United States (1923–29), b. Plymouth, Vt. John Calvin Coolidge was a graduate of Amherst College and was admitted to the bar in 1897. He practice...

signing statement

(Encyclopedia)signing statement, written comment issued by the executive of a government when signing a bill into law. In the United States, such statements have traditionally been comparatively neutral declaration...

plover

(Encyclopedia)plover plŭvˈər [key], common name for some members of the large family Charadriidae, shore birds, small to medium in size, found in ice-free lands all over the world. Plovers are plumpish wading bi...

gaillardia

(Encyclopedia)gaillardia gālärˈdēə [key], any plant of the genus Gaillardia of the Asteaceae family (aster family), including annual, biennial, and perennial herbs with showy heads of red and/or yellow ray flo...