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Dagobert I

(Encyclopedia)Dagobert I dăgˈōbûrt [key], c.612–c.639, Frankish king, son and successor of King Clotaire II. His father was forced to appoint Dagobert king of the East Frankish kingdom of Austrasia at the req...

tagua

(Encyclopedia)tagua täˈgwä [key], fruit of the ivory, or ivory-nut, palms (Phytelephas species), which flourish in tropical America from Paraguay to Panama. The female palms bear large woody, burrlike fruits, ea...

Maudling, Reginald

(Encyclopedia)Maudling, Reginald, 1917–79, British politician. A lawyer, he entered Parliament in 1950 as a Conservative and rapidly rose to prominence, serving as minister of supply (1955–57), paymaster-genera...

Vereeniging

(Encyclopedia)Vereeniging fərēˈnĭkhĭng [key] [Afrik.,=union], city, now part of the Enfuleni local municipality, Gauteng prov., NE South Africa, on the Vaal River. An industrial center, its chief products are ...

Herrings, Battle of the

(Encyclopedia)Herrings, Battle of the, 1429, episode in the siege of Orléans by the English in the Hundred Years War. The French, under Jean, comte de Dunois, attacked a supply train commanded by Sir John Fastolf....

Brady, Diamond Jim

(Encyclopedia)Brady, Diamond Jim (James Buchanan Brady), 1856–1917, American financier and philanthropist, b. New York City. He was a bellboy and messenger and then worked for the New York Central RR in various c...

Sekondi-Takoradi

(Encyclopedia)Sekondi-Takoradi sĕkˈəndē-täkôräˈdē [key], city (1984 pop. 93,822), capital of the Western Region, SW Ghana, on the Gulf of Guinea. An important seaport and commercial city, Sekondi-Takoradi ...

Phocion

(Encyclopedia)Phocion fōˈshən [key], c.402–318 b.c., Athenian general. He served successfully against the forces of Philip of Macedon—in Euboea (now Évvoia; 348 b.c.) and at Byzantium (339), when he forced ...

Cox, Ross

(Encyclopedia)Cox, Ross, 1793–1853, American fur trader. He joined John Jacob Astor's Pacific Fur Company in 1811 and went to the Astoria post on the supply ship Beaver. He was active in the trade in the Columbia...

Guadarrama, Sierra de

(Encyclopedia)Guadarrama, Sierra de syārˈrä ᵺā gwäᵺäräˈmä [key], mountain range rising from the plateau of central Spain, N of Madrid, and extending c.120 mi (190 km) between the Tagus and Douro rivers...