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surfperch

(Encyclopedia)surfperch, any member of the family Embiotocidae, a large family of spiny-finned, carnivorous fishes of the perch order. Also known as seaperches and surf fish, most surfperches are found off sandy sh...

Sinclair, Upton

(Encyclopedia)Sinclair, Upton (Upton Beall Sinclair), 1878–1968, American novelist and socialist activist, b. Baltimore, grad. College of the City of New York, 1897. He was one of the muckrakers, and a dedication...

Eocene epoch

(Encyclopedia)Eocene epoch ēˈəsēnˌ [key], second epoch of the Tertiary period in the Cenozoic era of geologic time, from approximately 54.9 to 38 million years ago. The Eocene in North America was marked by th...

Mount Wilson Observatory

(Encyclopedia)Mount Wilson Observatory, astronomical observatory located in California on Mt. Wilson, near Pasadena. Mt. Wilson Observatory was founded in 1904 by George E. Hale. Its equipment includes 100-in. (2.5...

Didion, Joan

(Encyclopedia)Didion, Joan dĭdˈēŏn [key], 1934–2021, American writer, b. Sacramento, Calif., Univ. of ...

gecko

(Encyclopedia)gecko gĕkˈō [key], small or medium-sized lizard of the family Gekkonidae. Some 1,500 species are distributed throughout the warm regions of the world, mostly in the Old World. Despite folklore to t...

californium

(Encyclopedia)californium kălˈĭfôrˌnēəm [key] [from California], artificially produced, radioactive metallic chemical element; symbol Cf; at. no. 98; mass no. of most stable isotope 251; m.p. about 900℃; b...

Said, Sayyid

(Encyclopedia)Said, Sayyid säēdˈ säēdˈ [key] or Said ibn Sultan, 1791?–1856, ruler of Oman and Zanzibar. He became ruler of Oman in 1806, when he was about 15. After defeating opposition in Oman, with Briti...

Arce Catacora, Luis Alberto

(Encyclopedia)Arce Catacora, Luis Alberto, 1963–, Bolivian government official and political leader. Trained as an economist, Arce held several positions at Bolivia's central bank (1987–2006) before becoming mi...

Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa

(Encyclopedia)Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa, 1935–2020, Bahraini political leader, prime minister (1971–2020). A member of the Sunni ruling family, he was the brother of Sheikh Isa bin Salman al-Khalifa, who ru...
 

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