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reclamation of land

(Encyclopedia) reclamation of land, practice of converting land deemed unproductive into arable land by such methods as irrigation, drainage, flood control, altering the texture and mineral and…

Madison, James

(Encyclopedia) Madison, James, 1751–1836, 4th President of the United States (1809–17), b. Port Conway, Va. When Jefferson triumphed in the election of 1800, Madison became (1801) his secretary of…

Grateful Dead, The

(Encyclopedia) Grateful Dead, The, American rock music group formed in 1965 by guitarists Jerry Garcia, 1942–95, and Bob Weir, 1947–, harmonica player Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, 1945–73, bassist Phil…

Halifax, George Savile, 1st marquess of

(Encyclopedia) Halifax, George Savile, 1st marquess of, 1633–95, English statesman. A protégé of the 2d duke of Buckingham, he was made Viscount Halifax (1668) and sat (1672–76) in the privy council…

hoopoe

(Encyclopedia) hoopoehoopoeh&oomacr;ˈp&oomacr;, –pō [key], common name for a shy, solitary, Old World woodland bird, Upupa epops. Its body color ranges from cinnamon to chestnut, with white-…

DeLay, Tom

(Encyclopedia) DeLay, Tom (Thomas Dale DeLay), 1947–, American politician, b. Laredo, Tex., grad. Univ. of Houston (B.S., 1970). A conservative Republican businessman, he entered politics (1979) as a…

Mühlenberg, Heinrich Melchior

(Encyclopedia) Mühlenberg, Heinrich MelchiorMühlenberg, Heinrich Melchiormĕlˈkhēôr müˈlənbĕrk [key], 1711–87, American Lutheran clergyman, b. Germany, educated at Göttingen and at Halle. He arrived (…

sun grebe

(Encyclopedia) sun grebe, common name for a tropical, mainly aquatic bird of the family Heliornithidae. Sun grebes, also called finfoots, are remarkable for their colorful, puffy-toed, webbed feet,…

Schuller, Gunther Alexander

(Encyclopedia) Schuller, Gunther Alexander, 1925–2015, American composer and conductor, b. Queens, N.Y. He studied French horn and flute, becoming principal hornist with the Cincinnati Symphony (1943…

Pennebaker, D. A.

(Encyclopedia) Pennebaker, D. A. (Donn Alan Pennebaker), 1925–2019, pioneering documentary filmmaker, b. Evanston, Ill. His first film, Daybreak Express (1958), is a five-minute short detailing New…