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Great Sandy Desert

(Encyclopedia)Great Sandy Desert, Australia's second-largest desert, c.110,000 sq mi (284,900 sq km), Western Australia and Northern Territory. Lying between the Tanami Desert (NE) and the Gibson Desert (S), it is ...

Untermyer, Samuel

(Encyclopedia)Untermyer, Samuel, 1858–1940, American lawyer and civic leader, b. Lynchburg, Va., grad. Columbia law school, 1878. He gained fame as a lawyer and took part in some of the country's most important l...

Pomo

(Encyclopedia)Pomo, Native Americans of N California, belonging to the Hokan branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). The Pomo were the most southerly Native Americans on the Cal...

Hargeisa

(Encyclopedia)Hargeisa, Hargeysa, or Harghessa all: härgāˈsä [key], town (1984 est. pop. 70,000) and capital of the Somaliland region, N Somalia. It is a commercial center and watering place for nomadic stock ...

wallflower

(Encyclopedia)wallflower, Mediterranean perennial (Cheiranthus cheiri) of the family Cruciferae (or Brassicaceae; mustard family), particularly popular in Europe, where it flourishes on old walls. An old-fashioned ...

West Highland white terrier

(Encyclopedia)West Highland white terrier, breed of sturdy, compact terrier developed in Scotland in the early 19th cent. It stands about 11 in. (27.9 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs from 13 to 20 lb (5.9–9.1...

Crédit Mobilier of America

(Encyclopedia)Crédit Mobilier of America krĕˈdĭt mōbĭlyāˈ, krādēˈ [key], ephemeral construction company, connected with the building of the Union Pacific RR and involved in one of the major financial sca...

Leo IX, Saint, pope

(Encyclopedia)Leo IX, Saint, 1002–54, pope (1049–54), a German named Bruno of Toul, b. Alsace; successor of Damasus II. A relative of Holy Roman Emperor Henry III, he was educated at Toul and was made bishop th...

Lederberg, Joshua

(Encyclopedia)Lederberg, Joshua lāˈdərbûrgˌ [key], 1925–2008, American geneticist, b. Montclair, N.J., grad. Columbia, 1944, Ph.D. Yale, 1948. He is known for his studies of the genetic mechanisms of bacteri...

Seminole War

(Encyclopedia)Seminole War, in U.S. history, armed conflict between the U.S. government and the Seminoles. In 1832 the U.S. government signed a treaty with the Seminoles, who lived in Florida, providing for their r...