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Belluno

(Encyclopedia)Belluno bĕl-lo͞oˈnō [key], city, capital of Belluno prov., Venetia, NE Italy, on the Piave ...

Jacobean style

(Encyclopedia)Jacobean style jăkˌəbēˈən [key], an early phase of English Renaissance architecture and decoration. It formed a transition between the Elizabethan and the pure Renaissance style later introduced...

Robinson, Charles

(Encyclopedia)Robinson, Charles, 1818–94, American politician, first governor of the state of Kansas (1861–63), b. Hardwick, Mass. He studied medicine and in 1849 he joined the gold rush to California, where th...

skydiving

(Encyclopedia)skydiving, sport of descending partly by parachute from an airplane or similar craft. Engaged in for both recreational and competitive purposes, skydiving involves three phases of activity: the free f...

Topeka

(Encyclopedia)Topeka təpēˈkə [key], city (1990 pop. 119,883), state capital and seat of Shawnee co., NE Kans., on the Kansas River; inc. 1857. In a rich agricultural region, it is an important shipping point fo...

Schmidt, Helmut

(Encyclopedia)Schmidt, Helmut hĕlˈmo͝ot shmĭt [key], 1918–2015, German political leader, chancellor of West Germany (1974–82). After serving in World War II, he entered politics and joined the Social Democr...

Adenauer, Konrad

(Encyclopedia)Adenauer, Konrad kônˈrät äˈdənouˌər [key], 1876–1967, West German chancellor. A lawyer and a member of the Catholic Center party, he was lord mayor of Cologne and a member of the provincial ...

Madison, James

(Encyclopedia)Madison, James, 1751–1836, 4th President of the United States (1809–17), b. Port Conway, Va. When Jefferson triumphed in the election of 1800, Madison became (1801) his secretary of state. He se...

Astor, John Jacob, 1763–1848, American merchant

(Encyclopedia)Astor, John Jacob ăsˈtər [key], 1763–1848, American merchant, b. Walldorf, near Heidelberg, Germany. At the age of 16 he went to England, and five years later, in 1784, he arrived in Baltimore, p...

livery companies

(Encyclopedia)livery companies, London trade guilds incorporated by royal charter, deriving their name from the assumption of distinctive dress (livery) by their members. Edward III granted the first charters in th...