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Human Genome Project
Human Genome Project international scientific effort to map all of the genes on the 23 pairs of human chromosomes and, to sequence the 3.1 billion DNA base pairs that make up the chromosomes (see nucleic acid ). Begun in 1990 with the goal of enabling scientists to understand the basis of gene...
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Brook Farm
Brook Farm 1841-47, an experimental farm at West Roxbury, Mass., based on cooperative living. Founded by George Ripley , a Unitarian minister, the farm was initially financed by a joint-stock company with 24 shares of stock at $500 per share. Each member was to take part in the manual labor in an ...
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Channel Tunnel
Channel Tunnel popularly called the "Chunnel," a three-tunnel railroad connection running under the English Channel, connecting Folkestone, England, and Calais, France. The tunnels are 31 mi (50 km) long. There are two rail tunnels, each 25 ft (7.6 m) in diameter, and a central tunnel, 16 ft (4...
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Lowell Observatory
Lowell Observatory astronomical observatory located in Flagstaff, Ariz.; it was founded in 1894 by Percival Lowell , the American astronomer who popularized the idea that Mars might support intelligent life. Its original telescope, still in operation, is a 24-in. (61-cm) refractor; also located at...
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South Sea Bubble
South Sea Bubble popular name in England for the speculation in the South Sea Company, which failed disastrously in 1720. The company was formed in 1711 by Robert Harley , who needed allies to carry through the peace negotiations to end the War of the Spanish Succession. Holders of £9 mill...
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Freeport
Freeport city (1990 pop. 25,115), Grand Bahama Island, Bahamas. A popular resort area, it developed out of a 1955 agreement between the Bahamian colonial government and a private development company to create a free port and business area. The venture was a rapid success, resulting in the additiona...
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Sir Leander Starr Jameson
Sir Leander Starr Jameson 1853-1917, British colonial administrator and statesman in South Africa. He went to Kimberley (1878) as a physician, became associated with Cecil Rhodes in his colonizing ventures, and was appointed (1891) administrator of Mashonaland. On Dec. 29, 1895, he led a band of ...
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George Cadbury
George Cadbury 1839-1922, English manufacturer and social reformer; husband of Elizabeth Mary Cadbury . In 1861, Cadbury and his brother Richard assumed control of their father's Birmingham cocoa and chocolate factory. Interested in housing problems, the brothers moved (1880) the plant to Bournvil...
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Robert Cambert
Robert Cambert , c.1628-1677, French composer; pupil of Chambonnières. His Pastorale d'Issy (1659) and other works are among the first real French operas. With the librettist Pierre Perrin (1625-75) he created French recitative in operas, including Pomone (1671), which contains all the ...
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Andrew Hamilton
Andrew Hamilton 1676?-1741, colonial American lawyer, defender of John Peter Zenger , b. Scotland. He practiced law in Maryland and then Pennsylvania, where he became (1717) attorney general and held other offices. When the governing party in New York had disbarred all local lawyers who ventured t...
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