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Titanic

(Encyclopedia)Titanic tītănˈĭk [key], British liner that sank on the night of Apr. 14–15, 1912, less than three hours after crashing into an iceberg in the N Atlantic S of Newfoundland. More than 1,500 lives ...

clipper

(Encyclopedia)clipper, type of sailing ship, designed for speed. Long and narrow, the clipper had the greatest beam aft of the center; the bow cleaved the waves; and the ship carried, besides topgallant and royal s...

barque

(Encyclopedia)barque: see bark.

Guerrière

(Encyclopedia)Guerrière: see Constitution, ship. ...

Barry, John

(Encyclopedia)Barry, John, 1745–1803, U.S. naval officer in the American Revolution, b. Co. Wexford, Ireland. He went as a youth to Philadelphia, where he was a trader and a shipmaster. In the Revolution he comma...

Charcot, Jean Baptiste

(Encyclopedia)Charcot, Jean Baptiste zhäN bätēstˈ shärkōˈ [key], 1867–1936, French neurologist and explorer in the antarctic region; son of Jean Martin Charcot. He became (1896) director of clinics at the ...

Brant, Sebastian

(Encyclopedia)Brant, Brandt, or Brand, Sebastian sābäsˈtyän bränt [key], 1457–1521, German humanist and moralist. He taught law at the Univ. of Basel and in 1503 became town clerk of Strasbourg. His verse al...

Old Ironsides

(Encyclopedia)Old Ironsides: see Constitution, ship. ...

Drake, Sir Francis

(Encyclopedia)Drake, Sir Francis, 1540?–1596, English navigator and admiral, first Englishman to circumnavigate the world (1577–80). In 1585, Drake commanded a fleet that sacked Vigo in Spain and burned São ...

Virginius affair

(Encyclopedia)Virginius affair, 1873, incident that came near to causing war between the United States and Spain. The Virginius, a filibustering ship, was fraudulently flying the American flag and carrying arms to ...