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Johnson, Boris

(Encyclopedia)Johnson, Boris (Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson), 1964–, British political leader, b. New York City, grad. Oxford (1986). While at Oxford Johnson was president of the prestigious Oxford Union deb...

Johnson, Randy

(Encyclopedia)Johnson, Randy (Randall David Johnson), 1963–, American baseball player, b. Walnut Creek, Calif. After pitching for the Univ. of Southern California, Johnson signed with the Montreal Expos in 1985, ...

Johnson, Judy

(Encyclopedia)Johnson, Judy (William Julius Johnson), 1899–1989, American baseball player, b. Snow Hill, Md. His father, a boxing coach, wanted him to be a prizefighter, but he started playing semipro baseball in...

Avery Island

(Encyclopedia)Avery Island, salt dome, 163 ft (50 m) high and 2 mi (3.2 km) in diameter, S La., in an area of sea marshes and swamps. A corporation controlled by the Avery and McIlhenny families owns the island. Ho...

phoenix, in mythology

(Encyclopedia)phoenix, fabulous bird that periodically regenerated itself, used in literature as a symbol of death and resurrection. According to legend, the phoenix lived in Arabia; when it reached the end of its ...

Boswell, James

(Encyclopedia)Boswell, James, 1740–95, Scottish author, b. Edinburgh; son of a distinguished judge. At his father's insistence the young Boswell reluctantly studied law. Admitted to the bar in 1766, he practiced ...

Guadalupe Hidalgo

(Encyclopedia)Guadalupe Hidalgo gwäᵺälo͞oˈpā ēdälˈgō, wä– [key], shrine, central Mexico, in the Federal District. The basilica of Guadalupe containing the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe (feast: Dec. ...

Browning, Orville Hickman

(Encyclopedia)Browning, Orville Hickman, 1806–81, U.S. Secretary of the Interior (1866–69), b. Harrison co., Ky. One of the organizers of the Republican party in Illinois, Browning helped secure his friend Linc...

Johnson, Uwe

(Encyclopedia)Johnson, Uwe üˈvā yônˈzôn [key], 1934–84, German novelist. Johnson's works explore the complex effects on the average German of the postwar division of their nation, both halves of which he se...

oilbird

(Encyclopedia)oilbird, common name for an owllike, cave-dwelling bird, Steatornis caripensis, belonging to the family Steatornithidae. It spends its days in dark caves, maneuvering by means of a batlike sonar devic...
 

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