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Adams, John Quincy

(Encyclopedia)Adams, John Quincy, 1767–1848, 6th President of the United States (1825–29), b. Quincy (then in Braintree), Mass.; son of John Adams and Abigail Adams and father of Charles Francis Adams (1807–8...

Cathay

(Encyclopedia)Cathay kăthāˈ [key], name for North China used by medieval Europeans, derived from the Khitan (or Khitai), a Manchurian people who conquered S Manchuria and N China and founded the Liao dynasty (93...

Nippur

(Encyclopedia)Nippur nĭpo͝orˈ [key], ancient city of Babylonia, a N Sumerian settlement on the Euphrates. It was the seat of the important cult of the god Enlil, or Bel. Excavations at Nippur have yielded the re...

Whittier

(Encyclopedia)Whittier, city (1990 pop. 77,671), Los Angeles co., S Calif.; in an oil area; inc. 1898. Mainly residential, it has food processing and plants that manufacture transportation equipment; machinery; cla...

Boksburg

(Encyclopedia)Boksburg bŏksˈbûrgˌ [key], city, now part of Ekurhuleni metropolitan municipality, Gauteng prov., NE South Africa. It is an important coal-mining center. Some gold mining is still carried on. Manu...

Sino-Japanese War, Second

(Encyclopedia)Sino-Japanese War, Second, 1937–45, conflict between Japanese and Chinese forces for control of the Chinese mainland. The war sapped the Nationalist government's strength while allowing the Communis...

Falun Gong

(Encyclopedia)Falun Gong dä-fä [key], movement promoting physical and spiritual well-being that became widespread China in the 1990s. Founded in 1992 by Li Hongzhi (1951?–), a former Changchun grain clerk, it c...

Wuhan

(Encyclopedia)Wuhan wo͞o-hän [key], city (1994 est. pop. 3,519,600), capital of Hubei prov., central China, at the junction of the Han and Chang rivers. The great industrial, commercial, and transportation center...

Shenzhen

(Encyclopedia)Shenzhen shĕnˈjŭnˈ [key], city (1994 est. pop. 695,600) and port, S Guangdong prov., China, on the South China Sea, N of Hong Kong. Designated a special economic zone in 1979 when it was undevelop...

ovenbird

(Encyclopedia)ovenbird, common name for a member of the family Furnariidae, primitive passerine birds, which build elaborate, domed nests of clay or dig tunnels in the ground to lay their eggs. Ovenbirds are most c...