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fir

(Encyclopedia)fir, any tree of the genus Abies of the family Pinaceae (pine family), tall pyramidal evergreen conifers characterized by short, flat, stemless needles and erect cylindrical cones that shed their scal...

Tyson, Mike

(Encyclopedia)Tyson, Mike (Michael Gerald Tyson), 1966–, American boxer, b. Brooklyn, N.Y. At the age of 12, Tyson was sent to reform school, where he began to box. In a whirlwind career begun in 1985 when he tur...

Balfe, Michael William

(Encyclopedia)Balfe, Michael William bălf [key], 1808–70, Irish composer. Of his many operas, very popular in their time, the best known was The Bohemian Girl (1843). ...

Courtenay, William

(Encyclopedia)Courtenay, William kôrtˈnē [key], c.1342–1396, English prelate, archbishop of Canterbury (1381–96). He was important for his condemnation of the doctrines of Wyclif and for suppressing the Loll...

William of Malmesbury

(Encyclopedia)William of Malmesbury mämzˈbərē [key], c.1096–1143, English writer, monk of Malmesbury. His most important work is the Gesta regum Anglorum, a history of the kings of England from 449 to 1127, w...

Frederick William I

(Encyclopedia)Frederick William I, 1688–1740, king of Prussia (1713–40), son and successor of Frederick I. He continued the administrative reforms and the process of centralization begun by Frederick William, t...

Halsted, William Stewart

(Encyclopedia)Halsted, William Stewart hôlˈstĭd [key], 1852–1922, American surgeon, b. New York City, M.D. College of Physicians and Surgeons, 1877. He practiced in New York and in 1886 became the first profes...

William the Lion

(Encyclopedia)William the Lion, 1143–1214, king of Scotland (1165–1214), brother and successor of Malcolm IV. Determined to recover Northumbria (lost to England in 1157), he supported the rebellion (1173–74) ...

Rayleigh, John William Strutt, 3d Baron

(Encyclopedia)Rayleigh, John William Strutt, 3d Baron rāˈlē [key], 1842–1919, English physicist. He was professor at Cambridge (1879–84) and at the Royal Institution (1887–1905), and chancellor of Cambridg...

Windham, William

(Encyclopedia)Windham, William wĭnˈdəm [key], 1750–1810, British politician. Elected to Parliament in 1784, he was a friend of Edmund Burke, whom he assisted in the impeachment of Warren Hastings. He served (1...
 

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