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screamer
screamer common name for gregarious, aquatic birds comprising three species in the family Anhimidae. Although they are related to the ducks and geese, they do not resemble them in outward appearance. Screamers possess some unusual anatomical features, such as a layer of insulating air cells that se...
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John Ashe
John Ashe c.1720-1781, American Revolutionary general, b. Brunswick co., N.C. Speaker of the colonial assembly (1762-65) and a leader of the opposition to the Stamp Act, he was important to the patriot cause in North Carolina. On Mar. 3, 1778, Ashe, a major general commanding North Carolina troops,...
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hunchback
hunchback abnormal outward curvature of the spine in the thoracic region. It is also known as kyphosis and humpback, and in its severe form a noticeable hump is evident on the back. Hunchback may be congenital, but it can also result from poor posture, uneven growth of the spine, fracture of verteb...
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Merodach-baladan
Merodach-baladan , fl. 722-702 BC, Chaldaean prince, who usurped (721) the Babylonian throne. Sargon of Assyria put down the allies of Merodach-baladan in Syria and Palestine and eventually drove (c.710) the usurper from Babylon. After Sargon's death, Merodach-baladan reoccupied (703-702) the throne...
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Saint Peter Canisius
Saint Peter Canisius , 1521-97, Dutch Jesuit, Doctor of the Church, b. Nijmegen. He spent his life traveling widely strengthening wavering Roman Catholics, preaching, and instructing. He was one of the most vigorous of the Catholic preachers in the regions affected by Lutheranism, above all in W and...
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Tilbury
Tilbury , part of the urban district of Thurrock , Essex, E England. Tilbury Fort originated under Henry VIII; it was rebuilt and strengthened in the 17th cent. Queen Elizabeth I, in 1588, reviewed royal troops there when the Spanish Armada threatened England. The Tilbury docks, begun in 1882, make...
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Paul I
Paul I 1754-1801, czar of Russia (1796-1801), son and successor of Catherine II. His mother disliked him intensely and sought on several occasions to change the succession to his disadvantage. During Catherine's lifetime Paul opposed her domestic policy, which strengthened the nobility, and her exp...
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Tseng Kuo-fan
Tseng Kuo-fan , 1811-72, Chinese general and statesman of the Ch'ing dynasty. He organized (1853) the Hunan army, the first of the great regional armies that were raised to suppress the Taiping Rebellion. Appointed governor-general of Jiangsu, Anhui, and Jiangxi provs. (1860), Tseng coordinated the ...
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Ahmad Shah
Ahmad Shah , c.1723-1773, Afghan ruler (1747-73), founder of the Durani dynasty. His success in commanding Afghan forces in India for Nadir Shah of Iran won him the rule of Afghanistan on Nadir's death (1747). He twice (1756, 1760) occupied and sacked Delhi, the capital of the Mughal empire. He co...
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Bandung Conference
Bandung Conference meeting of representatives of 29 African and Asian nations, held at Bandung, Indonesia, in 1955. The aim—to promote economic and cultural cooperation and to oppose colonialism—was more or less achieved in an atmosphere of cordiality. China played a prominent part and ...
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