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Grisham, John

(Encyclopedia)Grisham, John, 1955–, American novelist and lawyer, b. Jonesboro, Ark., B.S. Mississippi State Univ., 1977, J.D. Univ. of Mississippi School of Law, 1981. He practiced law for nearly a decade and se...

twilight

(Encyclopedia)twilight, period between sunset and total darkness or between total darkness and sunrise. Total darkness does not occur immediately when the sun sinks below the horizon because light from the sun that...

free silver

(Encyclopedia)free silver, in U.S. history, term designating the political movement for the unlimited coinage of silver. In 1896 free silver became the major issue of a presidential campaign when William Jennings...

Smith, Emmitt

(Encyclopedia)Smith, Emmitt (Emmitt James Smith 3d), 1969–, U.S. football player, b. Pensacola, Fla. An All-America running back at the Univ. of Florida, Smith spent nearly his entire National Football League car...

Open University

(Encyclopedia)Open University, headquartered at Milton Keynes, England; founded 1969 as the Univ. of the Air. In 1971 a distance learning program was begun that now consists of correspondence courses integrated wit...

Shemaiah

(Encyclopedia)Shemaiah shĕmˌāīˈə [key], in the Bible. 1 Prophet at the time of Rehoboam. 2 False prophet during the Captivity. 3 False prophet hired to discredit Nehemiah. 4 Descendant of Zerubbabel. 5 Scribe...

turkey , in zoology

(Encyclopedia)turkey, common name for a large game and poultry bird related to the grouse and the pheasant. Its name derives from its “turk-turk” call. Turkeys are indigenous to the New World; American fossils ...

McTaggart, John McTaggart Ellis

(Encyclopedia)McTaggart, John McTaggart Ellis, 1866–1925, British philosopher. A student of G. W. Hegel, by whom he was strongly influenced, he taught at Trinity College, Cambridge (1897–1923). Believing that t...

epoch

(Encyclopedia)epoch, unit of geologic time that is a subdivision of a period. The Pleistocene and Holocene epochs, for example, are divisions of the Quaternary period. Epoch is also used to describe a short length ...

Byng, John

(Encyclopedia)Byng, John, 1704–57, British admiral; son of George Byng, Viscount Torrington. Sent (1756) to prevent the French from taking Minorca, he arrived when the island was already under siege and, after an...
 

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