Search

Search results

Displaying 101 - 110

softball

(Encyclopedia) softball, variant of baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Invented (1888) in Chicago as an indoor game, it was at various times called indoor baseball, mush ball,…

Fermat, Pierre de

(Encyclopedia) Fermat, Pierre deFermat, Pierre depyĕr də fĕrmäˈ [key], 1601–65, French mathematician. A magistrate whose avocation was mathematics, Fermat is known as a founder of modern number…

Gates, Robert Michael

(Encyclopedia) Gates, Robert Michael, 1943–, American government official, U.S. secretary of defense (2006–11), b. Wichita, Kans. A circumspect and pragmatic career intelligence officer, he joined (…

García Pérez, Alan Gabriel Ludwig

(Encyclopedia) García Pérez, Alan Gabriel Ludwig, 1949–2019, Peruvian political leader, president of Peru (1985–90, 2006–11). A lawyer and member of APRA, García was a charismatic speaker who rose…

thunderstorm

(Encyclopedia) thunderstorm, violent, local atmospheric disturbance accompanied by lightning, thunder, and heavy rain, often by strong gusts of wind, and sometimes by hail. The typical thunderstorm…

landslide

(Encyclopedia) landslide, rapid slipping of a mass of earth or rock from a higher elevation to a lower level under the influence of gravity and water lubrication. More specifically, rockslides are…

paramecium

(Encyclopedia) parameciumparameciumparəmēˈsĭəm [key], unicellular organism of the genus Paramecium, of the ciliate phylum Ciliophora found in freshwater throughout the world. Like other protozoans,…

Froude, James Anthony

(Encyclopedia) Froude, James AnthonyFroude, James Anthonyfr&oomacr;d [key], 1818–94, English historian. Educated at Oxford, he took deacon's orders after coming under the influence of the Oxford…

Thorpe, Jim

(Encyclopedia) Thorpe, Jim (James Francis Thorpe), 1888–1953, American athlete, b. near Prague, Okla. Thorpe was probably the greatest all-round male athlete the United States has ever produced. His…