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Gauss, Carl Friedrich

(Encyclopedia)Gauss, Carl Friedrich kärl frēˈdrĭkh gous [key], born Johann Friederich Carl Gauss, 1777–1855, German mathematician, physicist, and astronomer. Gauss was educated at the Caroline College, Brunsw...

Frémont, John Charles

(Encyclopedia)Frémont, John Charles, 1813–90, American explorer, soldier, and political leader, b. Savannah, Ga. He taught mathematics to U.S. naval cadets, then became an assistant on a surveying expedition (18...

Oxford, University of

(Encyclopedia)Oxford, University of, at Oxford, England, one of the oldest English-language universities in the world. The university was a leading center of learning throughout the Middle Ages; such scholars as Ro...

logic

(Encyclopedia)logic, the systematic study of valid inference. A distinction is drawn between logical validity and truth. Validity merely refers to formal properties of the process of inference. Thus, a conclusion w...

economics

(Encyclopedia)economics, study of how human beings allocate scarce resources to produce various commodities and how those commodities are distributed for consumption among the people in society (see distribution). ...

Herschel

(Encyclopedia)Herschel hûrˈshəl [key], family of distinguished English astronomers. Sir William Herschel,Sir William Herschel, 1738–1822, born Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel, was a great pioneer in astronomy. Bor...

Carlyle, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Carlyle, Thomas, 1795–1881, English author, b. Scotland. One of the most important social critics of his day, Carlyle influenced many men of the younger generation, among them Matthew Arnold and J...

Atatürk, Kemal

(Encyclopedia)Atatürk, Kemal kĕmälˈ ätätürkˈ [key], 1881–1938, Turkish leader, founder of modern Turkey. He took the name in 1934 in place of his earlier name, Mustafa Kemal, when he ordered all Turks to ...

biogenetic law

(Encyclopedia)biogenetic law, in biology, a law stating that the earlier stages of embryos of species advanced in the evolutionary process, such as humans, resemble the embryos of ancestral species, such as fish. T...