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Almeida, Francisco de

(Encyclopedia)Almeida, Francisco de dĭ älmāˈdə [key], c.1450–1510, Portuguese admiral, first viceroy of Portuguese India. He was first sent to India in 1503 as captain major of a fleet and helped Portuguese...

corn borer

(Encyclopedia)corn borer or European corn borer, common name for the larva of a moth of the family Pyralidae, introduced from S Europe into the Boston area in 1917. The corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis, has steadily ...

Reclamation, United States Bureau of

(Encyclopedia)Reclamation, United States Bureau of, agency set up in the Dept. of the Interior under the Reclamation Act of 1902. It is charged with promoting regional economies by developing water and related land...

Rathenau, Walther

(Encyclopedia)Rathenau, Walther välˈtər räˈtənou [key], 1867–1922, German industrialist, social theorist, and statesman. Son of Emil Rathenau (1838–1915), founder of the German public utilities company Al...

organic farming

(Encyclopedia)organic farming, the practice of growing plants—especially for fruits and vegetables, but for ornamentals as well—without the use of synthetic pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers, or of raisin...

warlord

(Encyclopedia)warlord, in modern Chinese history, autonomous regional military commander. In the political chaos following the death (1916) of republican China's first president and commander in chief, Yüan Shih-k...

Tanaka, Kakuei

(Encyclopedia)Tanaka, Kakuei käko͞oˈā tänäˈkä [key], 1918–93, Japanese political leader and prime minister (1972–74). Born to a poor rural family, he moved to Tokyo at the age of 15 and by 1937 had esta...

Boleslaus I

(Encyclopedia)Boleslaus I bōˈləslôs [key], c.966–1025, Polish ruler (992–1025), the first to call himself king; also called Boleslaus the Brave. He succeeded his father, Mieszko I, as duke of Poland, seized...

Buyid

(Encyclopedia)Buyid bo͞oˈyĭd [key], Shiite Islamic dynasty of N Persian descent that controlled Iraq and Persia from c.945 to 1060; founded by the sons of Buyeh. In the 930s, Buyeh's sons (Ali, Hasan, and Ahmad)...

vertical takeoff and landing aircraft

(Encyclopedia)vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (VTOL), craft capable of rising and descending vertically from and to the ground, thus requiring no runway. While a balloon or an airship has obvious VTOL capabil...