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sky

(Encyclopedia) sky, apparent dome over the earth, background of the clouds, sun, moon, and stars. The blue color of the clear daytime sky results from the selective scattering of light rays by the…

Poisson, Siméon Denis

(Encyclopedia) Poisson, Siméon DenisPoisson, Siméon DenissēmāôNˈ dənēˈ pwäsôNˈ [key], 1781–1840, French mathematician and physicist. From 1802 he taught at the École polytechnique, Paris, and was…

Babbitt, Natalie

(Encyclopedia) Babbitt, Natalie, 1932–2016, American children's book author and illustrator, b. Dayton, Ohio, as Natalie Zane Moore, grad. Smith College, 1954. She illustrated The Forty-Ninth…

Odum, Howard Washington

(Encyclopedia) Odum, Howard WashingtonOdum, Howard Washingtonōˈdəm [key], 1884–1954, American sociologist, b. Bethlehem, Ga., grad. Emory College, 1904, Ph.D. Clark Univ., 1909, and Ph.D. Columbia,…

Pavese, Cesare

(Encyclopedia) Pavese, CesarePavese, Cesarechāˈzärā pävĕˈsā [key], 1908–50, Italian novelist, poet, and translator. A major literary figure in postwar Italy, Pavese brought American influence to…

Columbia Plateau

(Encyclopedia) Columbia Plateau, physiographic region of North America, c.100,000 sq mi (259,000 sq km), NW United States, between the Rocky Mts. and the Cascade Range in Washington, Oregon, and…

Heinlein, Robert Anson MacDonald

(Encyclopedia) Heinlein, Robert Anson MacDonaldHeinlein, Robert Anson MacDonaldhīˈlīn [key], 1907–88, American science-fiction writer, b. Butler, Mo. His best-known novel, Stranger in a Strange Land…

Twin Falls

(Encyclopedia) Twin Falls, city (1990 pop. 27,591), seat of Twin Falls co., S Idaho, in the Snake River valley; inc. 1905. The city began as a center of a private irrigation project, which is…

Portland, William Bentinck, 1st earl of

(Encyclopedia) Portland, William Bentinck, 1st earl of, 1649–1709, Dutch statesman in England. He was William III's most trusted personal adviser. In 1677 he engaged in negotiating the marriage of…