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tuning fork

(Encyclopedia)tuning fork, steel instrument in the shape of a U with a short handle. When struck it produces an almost pure tone, retaining its pitch over a long period of time; thus it is a valuable aid in tuning ...

Boys Town

(Encyclopedia)Boys Town, village, Douglas co., E Nebr.; inc. 1936. The noted community was founded in 1917 by Father Edward J. Flanagan (1886–1948) for homeless or abandoned boys. The village is governed by the b...

Balfe, Michael William

(Encyclopedia)Balfe, Michael William bălf [key], 1808–70, Irish composer. Of his many operas, very popular in their time, the best known was The Bohemian Girl (1843). ...

Elder, Lee

(Encyclopedia) Elder, Lee, 1934-2021, American professional golfer, b. Dallas, Tx., as Robert Lee Elder. Elder broke many racial barriers in professional golf as the ...

dimension, in physics

(Encyclopedia)dimension, in physics, an expression of the character of a derived quantity in relation to fundamental quantities, without regard for its numerical value. In any system of measurement, such as the met...

Harold III

(Encyclopedia)Harold III or Harold Hardrada härdräˈdə [key], Norse Harald Harðráði [Harold stern council], d. 1066, king of Norway (1046–66), half-brother of Olaf II. After Olaf's defeat (1030), Harold wen...

O'Hara, Frank

(Encyclopedia)O'Hara, Frank 1926–66, American poet, b. Baltimore, grad. Harvard (B.A., 1950), Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor (M.A., 1951). His poetry is spontaneous, vernacular, witty, personal, and very much of it...

Lusinchi, Jaime Ramón

(Encyclopedia)Lusinchi, Jaime Ramón hīˈmā rämōnˈ lo͞osĭnˈchē [key], 1924–2014, Venezuelan political leader. Lusinchi joined the Democratic Action party (AD) upon its founding in 1941 and was involved i...

Kellogg, Edward

(Encyclopedia)Kellogg, Edward, 1790–1858, American economist, b. Norwalk, Conn. He advocated a financial scheme to abolish interest, which was often usurious at the time he wrote. Kellogg devised a system of fina...

Le Nain

(Encyclopedia)Le Nain lə năN [key], family of French painters consisting of three brothers: Antoine Le Nain, 1588?–1648, Louis Le Nain, 1593?–1648, and Mathieu Le Nain, 1607–77. They went to Paris from Laon...