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scale, in cartography

(Encyclopedia) scale, in cartography, the ratio of the distance between two points on a map to the real distance between the two corresponding points portrayed. The scale may be expressed in three…

Fort Donelson

(Encyclopedia) Fort DonelsonFort Donelsondŏnˈəlsən [key], Confederate fortification in the Civil War, on the Cumberland River at Dover, Tenn., commanding the river approach to Nashville, Tenn. After…

Puntland

(Encyclopedia) Puntland, semiautonomous region (2009 est. pop. 3,900,000), c.82,050 sq mi (212,500 sq km), extreme NE Somalia. It is bordered on the N by the Gulf of Aden, on the E by the Indian…

Fredericksburg, battle of

(Encyclopedia) Fredericksburg, battle of, in the Civil War, fought Dec. 13, 1862, at Fredericksburg, Va. In Nov., 1862, the Union general Ambrose Burnside moved his three “grand divisions” under W. B…

Malayo-Polynesian languages

(Encyclopedia) Malayo-Polynesian languagesMalayo-Polynesian languagesməlāˈō-pŏlĭnēˈzhən [key], sometimes also called Austronesian languagesAustronesian languagesôˌstrōnēˈzhən [key], family of…

Fort Sumter

(Encyclopedia) Fort Sumter, fortification, built 1829–60, on a shoal at the entrance to the harbor of Charleston, S.C., and named for Gen. Thomas Sumter; scene of the opening engagement of the Civil…

Alexander of Aphrodisias

(Encyclopedia) Alexander of AphrodisiasAlexander of Aphrodisiasăfrōdĭshˈēəs [key], fl. a.d. 200, Greek Peripatetic philosopher. A celebrated ancient commentator on Aristotle, he was often called the…

Hoyle, Edmond

(Encyclopedia) Hoyle, EdmondHoyle, Edmondhoil [key], 1672–1769, English writer on games, b. London. He codified the rules of whist in his book A Short Treatise on the Game of Whist (1742) and in…

Hart, H. L. A.

(Encyclopedia) Hart, H. L. A. (Herbert Lionel Adolphus Hart), 1907–92, British legal philosopher. A lawyer and trained philosopher—he was a legal positivist—Hart subjected legal concepts to scrutiny…

Runnymede

(Encyclopedia) Runnymede or RunnimedeRunnymederŭnˈĭmēd [key], meadow, in Egham, Surrey, S England, on the south bank of the Thames River, W of London. Either on this meadow or on nearby Charter…