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Vernon, cities, United States

(Encyclopedia)Vernon. 1 City (1990 pop. 152), Los Angeles co., S Calif., industrial suburb 2 mi (3.2 km) S of downtown Los Angeles; founded and inc. 1905. Vernon has a workforce (c.44,000) that hugely exceeds its f...

Detroit, city, United States

(Encyclopedia)Detroit dĭtroitˈ [key], city (2020 pop. 639,111), seat of Wayne co., SE Mich., on the Detro...

Leopold III, king of the Belgians

(Encyclopedia)Leopold III, 1901–83, king of the Belgians (1934–51), son and successor of Albert I. In 1936, Leopold announced a fundamental change in foreign policy; Belgium abandoned its military alliance with...

Minsk

(Encyclopedia)Minsk mĭnsk, Rus. mēnsk [key], city (1990 est. pop. 1,610,000), capital of Belarus and of the Minsk region, on a tributary of the Berezina. It is a railroad junction with machine, machine-tool, trac...

Assad, Bashar al-

(Encyclopedia)Assad, Bashar al- bäshärˈ äl-äsˈsäd [key], 1965–, Syrian political leader, son of Hafez al-Assad. A medical doctor, he left Syria (1992) for an ophthamology residency i...

shock absorber

(Encyclopedia)shock absorber, device for reducing the effect of a sudden shock by the dissipation of the shock's energy. On an automobile, springs and shock absorbers are mounted between the wheels and the frame. W...

Reno

(Encyclopedia)Reno rēˈnō [key], city (1990 pop. 133,850), seat of Washoe co., W Nev., on the Truckee River; inc. 1903. Tourism has been the major industry since gambling was legalized in Nevada in 1931. With its...

Puebla, state, Mexico

(Encyclopedia)Puebla pwāˈblä [key], state (1990 pop. 4,126,101), 13,126 sq mi (33,996 sq km), E central Mexico. The city of Puebla is the capital. The state is almost entirely mountainous, with large valleys bet...

Nizhny Novgorod

(Encyclopedia)Nizhny Novgorod nyēshˈnyī nôfˈgərəd [key], formerly Gorky or Gorki, city (1989 pop. 1,438,000), capital of Nizhny Novgorod region and the administrative center of the Volga federal district, E ...

veil

(Encyclopedia)veil, a feature of female costume from antiquity, especially in the East, where it was worn primarily to conceal the features. In modern times it is worn to enhance the face. The Egyptian woman of ran...