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Vardø

(Encyclopedia)Vardø värˈdö [key], town (1995 pop. 3,016), Finnmark co., extreme NE Norway, on the island of Vardøya in the Arctic Ocean, near the entrance to the Varangerfjord. It is an ice-free port; fishing ...

Casilinum

(Encyclopedia)Casilinum kăsĭlīˈnəm [key], ancient town, Campania, S Italy, 18 mi (29 km) N of present-day Naples. It probably was founded (c.600 b.c.) by the Etruscans. It was captured (215 b.c.) from Carthage...

Swakopmund

(Encyclopedia)Swakopmund sfäˈkôpmənt [key], municipality (1991 pop. 17,681), W Namibia, on the Atlantic at mouth of Swakop River. A rail terminus and seaside resort surrounded by the Namib desert, the town was ...

Bitter, Karl Theodore Francis

(Encyclopedia)Bitter, Karl Theodore Francis, 1867–1915, American sculptor, b. Austria. Having done some decorative modeling in Austria, Bitter soon found work when he came to the United States in 1889. His work f...

Joint Chiefs of Staff

(Encyclopedia)Joint Chiefs of Staff, U.S. statutory agency, created in 1949 within the Dept. of Defense. The chairman is the principal military adviser to the President, the National Security Council, and the Secre...

Chaos

(Encyclopedia)Chaos kāˈōs [key], in Greek religion and mythology, vacant, unfathomable space. From it arose all things, earthly and divine. There are various legends explaining it. In one version, Eurynome rose ...

Plücker, Julius

(Encyclopedia)Plücker, Julius yo͞oˈlyo͝os plüˈkər [key], 1801–68, German mathematician and physicist. He became professor of mathematics (1836) and of physics (1847) at the Univ. of Bonn. He is known for h...

Koolhaas, Rem

(Encyclopedia)Koolhaas, Rem (Remmet Lucas Koolhaas), 1944–, Dutch architect, b. Rotterdam. He began his career as a journalist and screenwriter, moving to London in the late 1960s to study architecture. Koolhaas ...

Sun Ra

(Encyclopedia) Sun Ra, 1914-1993, African-American jazz composer, bandleader, and keyboard player, b. Birmingham, Al., as Herman Poole Blount. Sun Ra was a leading c...