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Dame Nellie Melba
Dame Nellie Melba 1861-1931, Australian soprano, whose name originally was Helen Porter Mitchell. After study with Mathilde Marchesi in Paris, she made her operatic debut in Brussels in 1887. Famous for her lyric and coloratura roles, she sang regularly at Covent Garden in London from 1888 until 19...
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Jelly Roll Morton
Jelly Roll Morton 1890-1941, American jazz musician, composer, and band leader, originally named Ferdinand Joseph Lamothe, b. Gulfport, La. He began studying piano as a child and in his youth was a pianist in the colorful Storyville district of New Orleans. Later he played with Johnny Dodds, Baby...
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New Britain
New Britain volcanic island (1990 pop. 315,649), c.14,600 sq mi (37,810 sq km), SW Pacific, largest island of the Bismarck Archipelago and part of Papua New Guinea, in which it forms two provinces (East and West New Britain). Rabaul is the chief town and port. The island is mountainous, with ac...
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Neapolis
Neapolis [Gr.,=new city], name of many cities in ancient Greek and Roman times. The most important is the modern Naples , Italy.
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John Jacob Astor
John Jacob Astor , 1763-1848, American merchant, b. Walldorf, near Heidelberg, Germany. At the age of 16 he went to England, and five years later, in 1784, he arrived in Baltimore, penniless. He later went to New York City, where in a few years he entered into business with a small shop for trade in...
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New Red Sandstone
New Red Sandstone name for the thick red layer of the Triassic formation in Great Britain (see Triassic period ). It is many thousands of feet thick and is composed chiefly of red sandstones, clays, and conglomerate; the red color and the occurrence of workable quantities of salt and gypsum sugges...
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Fort Schuyler
Fort Schuyler . 1 Name given during the American Revolution to the rebuilt Fort Stanwix , on the site of Rome, N.Y. 2 Fort built on the site of Utica, N.Y., in 1758. 3 Fort built (c.1856) as part of the defenses of New York harbor in Throgs Neck, N.Y. The fort is now in New York City on the g...
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David Dixon Porter
David Dixon Porter 1813-91, American admiral, b. Chester, Pa.; son of David Porter . He served under his father in the Mexican navy before he was appointed (1829) midshipman in the U.S. navy. He held his first command, the Spitfire, in the Mexican War. From 1850 to 1854, Porter, on leave, comman...
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Anzus Treaty
Anzus Treaty , defense agreement signed in 1951 by Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. The name Anzus is derived from the initials of the three signatory nations. As a result of the reestablishment of peace between Japan and the United States in 1951, Australia and New Zealand asked for...
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New Thought
New Thought popular philosophical movement with religious implications; it affirms "the creative power of constructive thinking." A successor of New England transcendentalism , New Thought grew out of the healing practices of P. P. Quimby and the "mental science" of W. F. Evans, a Swedenbo...
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