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diffusion

(Encyclopedia)diffusion, in chemistry, the spontaneous migration of substances from regions where their concentration is high to regions where their concentration is low. Diffusion is important in many life process...

Seton, Ernest Thompson

(Encyclopedia)Seton, Ernest Thompson, 1860–1946, American writer and artist, b. England. His name was originally Ernest Seton Thompson. His stories and paintings of wildlife, especially Wild Animals I Have Known ...

Shaw, Leslie Mortier

(Encyclopedia)Shaw, Leslie Mortier, 1848–1932, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury (1902–7), b. Morristown, Vt. Admitted to the Iowa bar in 1876, he organized (1880) a banking firm that specialized in agricultural c...

Abbado, Claudio

(Encyclopedia)Abbado, Claudio, 1933–2014, Italian conductor, b. Milan. He debuted (1960) in his native city, conducting the orchestra at La Scala, where he subsequently served (1968–86) as musical director. He ...

Thénard, Louis Jacques

(Encyclopedia)Thénard, Louis Jacques lwē zhäk tānärˈ [key], 1777–1857, French chemist. He became professor at the Collège de France (1802), dean of the Faculty of Sciences, Paris (1821), chancellor of the ...

De Bary, Heinrich Anton

(Encyclopedia)De Bary, Heinrich Anton hīnˈrĭkh änˈtōn də bärēˈ [key], 1831–88, German botanist. He was professor at the universities of Freiburg in Breisgau (1855–66) and Halle (1867–72) and first r...

Commonwealth Fund

(Encyclopedia)Commonwealth Fund, foundation established (1918) by Anna M. Harkness, wife of Stephen V. Harkness, an early Standard Oil investor, “for the welfare of mankind.” Its headquarters are in New York Ci...

Drake, Joseph Rodman

(Encyclopedia)Drake, Joseph Rodman, 1795–1820, American poet and satirist, b. New York City. Under the name “The Croakers,” he and his friend Fitz-Greene Halleck wrote a series of light satirical verses for t...

dog racing

(Encyclopedia)dog racing, trials of speed between dogs. Now contested on oval tracks, the sport developed from the ancient practice of coursing, in which specially trained dogs chase game animals in the open field....

Atholston, Hugh Graham, 1st Baron

(Encyclopedia)Atholston, Hugh Graham, 1st Baron ăthˈəlstən [key], 1848–1938, Canadian newspaper publisher. He was the founder and proprietor (1869) of the evening paper the Montreal Star, which became Canada'...