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thunder

(Encyclopedia) thunder, sound produced along a path of a lightning flash, caused by the rapid heating and expansion of the adjacent air; lightning can heat air to temperatures as much as five times…

Outer Banks

(Encyclopedia) Outer Banks or the Banks, chain of sand barrier islands and peninsulas, c.175 mi (280 km), along the Atlantic coast of SE Va. and E N.C. Separated by inlets and enclosing several…

Alexander the Great

(Encyclopedia) CE5 Empire of Alexander the Great (including dependencies) Alexander the Great or Alexander III, 356–323 b.c., king of Macedon, conqueror of much of Asia. Whether or not…

Reynard the Fox

(Encyclopedia) Reynard the FoxReynard the Foxrĕˈnərd, rāˈnärd [key], the supreme trickster and celebrated hero of the medieval beast epics, works predominantly in verse which became increasingly…

Henry the Navigator

(Encyclopedia) Henry the Navigator, 1394–1460, prince of Portugal, patron of exploration. Because he fought with extraordinary valor in the Portuguese conquest of Ceuta (1415), he was created duke of…

Pliny the Elder

(Encyclopedia) Pliny the Elder (Caius Plinius Secundus)Pliny the Elderplĭˈnē [key], c.a.d. 23–a.d. 79, Roman naturalist, b. Cisalpine Gaul. He was a friend and fellow military officer of Vespasian,…

Peter the Cruel

(Encyclopedia) Peter the Cruel, 1334–69, Spanish king of Castile and León (1350–69), son and successor of Alfonso XI. His desertion of his wife, Blanche of Bourbon, for María Padilla and his favors…

Billy the Kid

(Encyclopedia) Billy the Kid, 1859–81, American outlaw, b. New York City. His real name was probably Henry McCarty; he was known as William H. Bonney. His family moved to Kansas and then to New…

Cato the Elder

(Encyclopedia) Cato the ElderCato the Elderkāˈtō [key] or Cato the Censor, Lat. Cato Major or Cato Censorius, 234–149 b.c., Roman statesman and moralist, whose full name was Marcus Porcius Cato. He…

Stephen the Great

(Encyclopedia) Stephen the Great, d.1504, prince of Moldavia (1457–1504). A great military and political leader, Stephen consolidated princely authority, furthered economic prosperity, and…