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Riel, Louis

(Encyclopedia)Riel, Louis lwē rēĕlˈ [key], 1844–85, Canadian insurgent, leader of two rebellions, b. Manitoba, of French and Métis parentage. In 1869–70 he led the rebels of the Red River settlements, main...

San

(Encyclopedia)San săn [key], people of SW Africa (mainly Botswana, Namibia, Angola, and South Africa), consisting of several groups and numbering about 100,000 in all. They are generally short in stature; their sk...

National Petroleum Reserve

(Encyclopedia)National Petroleum Reserve, area, c.23 million acres (9.32 million hectares), Alaska North Slope, situated W of Prudhoe Bay and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The reserve, which is the largest r...

Moberg, Vilhelm

(Encyclopedia)Moberg, Vilhelm vĭlˈhĕlm mo͞oˈbĕryə [key], 1898–1973, Swedish novelist and dramatist. Substantial recognition came with his partly autobiographical Knut Toring trilogy (1935–39; tr. The Ear...

Magog, in the Bible

(Encyclopedia)Magog māˈgŏg [key], in the Bible. 1 Son of Japheth. 2 The land from which Gog, the eschatological enemy of the people of God, comes to wreak havoc on Israel. ...

Lungu, Edgar Chagwa

(Encyclopedia)Lungu, Edgar Chagwa, 1956–, Zambian political leader. Trained as a lawyer, he entered politics as a member of the United Party for National Development (UPND), then switched to the Patriotic Front (...

Khoikhoi

(Encyclopedia)Khoikhoi koiˈkoiˌ [key], people numbering about 55,000 mainly in Namibia and in W South Africa. The Khoikhoi have been called Hottentots by whites in South Africa. In language and in physical type t...

Livingstone

(Encyclopedia)Livingstone, city (1990 est. pop. 82,218), S Zambia, near the Zambezi River, which forms the border with Zimbabwe. It is an industrial, commercial, and transportation center. Manufactures include clot...

Fujian

(Encyclopedia)Fujian fo͞oˈkēĕnˈ [key], province, c.48,000 sq mi (124,352 sq km), SE China, on Taiwan S...

transcontinental railroad

(Encyclopedia)transcontinental railroad, in U.S. history, rail connection with the Pacific coast. In 1845, Asa Whitney presented to Congress a plan for the federal government to subsidize the building of a railroad...