(Encyclopedia) Earnhardt, Dale (Ralph Dale Earnhardt, Sr.)Earnhardt, Daleûrnˈhärt [key], 1951–2001, American auto racing driver widely regarded as stock car racing's greatest star, b. Kannapolis, N.C…
(Encyclopedia) Cambridge Platonists, group of English philosophers, centered at Cambridge in the latter half of the 17th cent. In reaction to the mechanical philosophy of Thomas Hobbes this school…
(Encyclopedia) calumet [Fr.,=reed], name given by the French to the peace pipe used by the indigenous people of North America for smoking tobacco; it consisted of a long, feathered stem, with or…
(Encyclopedia) rectifier, component of an electric circuit used to change alternating current to direct current. Rectifiers are made in various forms, all operating on the principle that current…
(Encyclopedia) Emanuel, Rahm Israel, 1959–, American politician, b. Chicago, grad. Sarah Lawrence College (B.A., 1981), Northwestern Univ. (M.A., 1985). A seasoned Democratic power broker and skilled…
(Encyclopedia) Gorgas, William Crawford, 1854–1920, American disease and sanitation expert, surgeon general of the United States, b. Mobile, Ala., grad. Bellevue Hospital Medical College, 1879. He…
(Encyclopedia) Olajuwon, HakeemOlajuwon, Hakeemhäkēmˈ ōlīˈjəwŏnˌ [key], 1963–, Nigerian-American basketball player, b. Lagos. Introduced to basketball at age 15, when he stood 6 ft 9 in. (206 cm)…
(Encyclopedia) Dollier de Casson, FrançoisDollier de Casson, FrançoisfräNswäˈ dôlyāˈ də käsôNˈ [key], 1636–1701, priest and explorer in Canada, b. near Nantes, France. In 1657 he entered the seminary…
(Encyclopedia) Scholz's star, dim binary star system, consisting of a red dwarf and brown dwarf, in the constellation Monoceros, apparent magnitude 18.3. The red dwarf is a tiny star, with less than…
