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Putumayo

(Encyclopedia)Putumayo ēsäˈ [key], river, c.1,000 mi (1,600 km) long, rising in the Andes, S Colombia, and flowing SE to the Amazon in NW Brazil. Mostly navigable, it marks part of Colombia's boundary with Ecuad...

Djokovic, Novak

(Encyclopedia)Djokovic, Novak, 1987–, Serbian tennis player, b. Belgrade. He began winning European championships at age 14, and played in his first Grand Slam tournament, the Australian Open, in 2005. He won the...

Godiva, Lady

(Encyclopedia)Godiva, Lady gōdīˈvə [key], fl. c.1040–80, wife of Leofric, earl of Mercia; famous for her legendary ride through the city of Coventry. She was a benefactor of several monasteries, especially th...

Andronicus II

(Encyclopedia)Andronicus II (Andronicus Palaeologus) pālēŏlˈəgəs [key], 1258–1332, Byzantine emperor (1282–1328), son and successor of Michael VIII. He devoted himself chiefly to church affairs, renewing ...

Jumel Mansion

(Encyclopedia)Jumel Mansion jo͞omĕlˈ, zho͞o– [key], historic house, New York City. The sturdy Georgian mansion was completed in 1766 by Roger Morris, one of the city's wealthy merchants. In the American Revol...

Nadal, Rafael

(Encyclopedia)Nadal, Rafael (Rafael Nadal Parera), 1986–, Spanish tennis player, b. Majorca. Widely regarded as the greatest clay-court player ever, “Rafa” turned professional at 15. In 2005 he won his first ...

Merryman, ex parte

(Encyclopedia)Merryman, ex parte, case decided in 1861 by Chief Justice Roger B. Taney sitting as a federal circuit judge in Baltimore. John Merryman, a citizen of Maryland, was imprisoned by the U.S. army on suspi...

Consulate

(Encyclopedia)Consulate, 1799–1804, in French history, form of government established after the coup of 18 Brumaire (Nov. 9–10, 1799), which ended the Directory. Three consuls were appointed to rule France—Na...

Duane, William John

(Encyclopedia)Duane, William John, 1780–1865, U.S. Secretary of Treasury (June–Sept., 1833), b. Clonmel, Ireland. He emigrated (1796) to Philadelphia with his father, William Duane (1760–1835), and assisted h...

Ghez, Andrea Mia

(Encyclopedia)Ghez, Andrea Mia, 1965–, American astrophysicist, b. New York City, Ph.D. California Institute of Technology, 1992. She has been on the faculty at the Univ. of California, Los Angeles, since 1994. G...
 

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