École des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts (École Nationale Supérieure Des Beaux-Arts), school of design and architecture established in Paris in 1648.
21st Century Webster's Family Encyclopedia - Dream to Eijkman, Christiaan
Albrecht Dürer
Dürer, Albrecht (1471–1528), German painter and engraver.
Friedrich Dürrenmatt
Dürrenmatt, Friedrich (1921–90), Swiss playwright and novelist.
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf (pop. 576,700), city in Germany, 25 mi (40 km) northwest of Cologne.
Dream
Dream, mental activity that occurs during sleep.
Dred Scott case
Dred Scott case, suit brought by Dred Scott, a slave from Missouri, on the grounds that temporary residence in a territory in which slavery was banned under the Missouri Compromise had made him free.
Dredging
Dredging, removal of silt, mud, and sand from harbors and navigation channels to keep them open for shipping.
Theodore Dreiser
Dreiser, Theodore (1871–1945), U.S. novelist whose naturalistic fiction is concerned with the dispossessed and criminal.
Dresden
Dresden (pop. 488,800), historic German city on the Elbe River, administrative center of the district of Dresden, in southeastern Germany.
Dresden china
Dresden china, or Meissen ware (after the town near Dresden where china has been made since 1710), Europe's first true porcelain.
Charles Richard Drew
Drew, Charles Richard (1904–50), African American physician, surgeon, and medical researcher who founded the American Red Cross blood bank.
Dreyfus Affair
Dreyfus Affair, French political scandal of the Third Republic. In 1894, Alfred Dreyfus (1859–1935), a Jewish army captain, was convicted of betraying French secrets to the Germans. Further evidence pointed to a Major Ferdinand Walsin Esterhazy as the traitor, but when tried (Jan. 1898), Esterhazy was acquitted on secret, forged evidence. Dreyfus's conviction had aroused anti-Semitis…
Alfred Dreyfus
Dreyfus, Alfred (1859–1935), Jewish French army official who became the center of a bitter political quarrel known as the Dreyfus affair.
Drill
Drill, tool for cutting or enlarging holes in hard materials. Rotary drills are commonly used in the home for wood, plastic, masonry, and sometimes metal. In mettallurgy the mechanical drilling machine, or drill press, operates one or several drills at a time. Most metallurgical drills are of high-speed steel. Dentists' drills rotate at extremely high speeds, powered by an electric motor or…
Drill
Drill, planting implement consisting of 4 parts: a hoe or opener that digs a row, a hopper that holds the seed, a seed meter that ensures even spacing of seeds in the furrows, and a chain or press wheel that covers the seed with soil.
Drive-in
Drive-in, U.S. marketing and service innovation designed to allow people to use the services provided without leaving their cars.
Drought
Drought, excessively dry climatic conditions, generally due to absence of rainfall.
Drowning
Drowning, death caused by suffocation due to immersion in water or any other liquid.
Drug
Drug, substance affecting the body and that may be used to treat illness or alleviate symptoms. Antibiotics, antitoxins, sulfa drugs, insulin, narcotics, contraceptives, stimulants, depressants, the special drugs used in chemotherapy to treat cancers are just a few of the many drugs that have transformed medical practice. Drugs may be derived from organic substances, they may be manufactured throu…
Drug abuse
Drug abuse, non-medical use of certain chemical substances that can induce unusual states of consciousness, relieve pain, increase endurance, or heighten sensation.
Drug addiction
Drug addiction, physical rather than psychological dependence upon an intoxicating substance, such that deprivation causes the addict to experience withdrawal.
Drug Enforcement Administration
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), U.S. government agency that enforces federal laws against narcotics.
Druids
Druids, ancient Celtic priestly order in Gaul (France), Britain, and Ireland, respected for their learning in astronomy, law, and medicine, for their gift of prophecy, and as lawgivers and leaders.
Drum
Drum, musical instrument of the percussion family, common to most cultures.
Drum
Drum, any of about 200 species of fishes of the family Sciaenidae.
Drumlin
Drumlin See: Glacier.
Druses
Druses, or Druzes, Islamic sect living in Lebanon, Syria, Israel, and the United States.
Dry cleaning
Dry cleaning, use of liquids other than water to clean fabrics.
Dry farming
Dry farming, type of agriculture without irrigation used in areas where less than 20 in (50 cm) rainfall per year prevents the use of traditional methods of farming. After harvest the land is tilled and kept free of weeds to reduce loss of moisture. Where crops are sown in spring, stubble of the previous year's crop is often allowed to stand over winter to trap snow. In very dry areas groun…
Dry ice
Dry ice, common name (originally a trade name) for solid carbon dioxide (CO2).
Dry rot
Dry rot, wood decay caused by a fungus that feeds on wood, making it lighter, weaker, and more brittle.
Dry Tortugas
Dry Tortugas, group of 7 coral islands about 50 mi (80 km) west of Key West, Fla.
John Dryden
Dryden, John (1631–1700), English poet, dramatist, and literary critic.
DT's
DT's See: Delirium tremens.
Marie Jeanne Bécu Du Barry Countess
Du Barry, Marie Jeanne Bécu, Countess (1743–93), last mistress of Louis XV of France.
W(illiam) E(dward) B(urghardt) Du Bois
Du Bois, W(illiam) E(dward) B(urghardt) (1868–1963), African American educator and author.
Du Maurier
Du Maurier, name of 2 English novelists.
Du Pont
Du Pont, U.S. industrial family of French origin. Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739–1817), French economist and statesman, publicized the Physiocrats' doctrines. He was a reformist member of the Estates General (1789) and secretary general of the provisional government (1814). He fled to the United States in 1799 and, having returned to France in 1802, fled again in 1815. His so…
Du Pont Company
Du Pont Company, one of the world's largest manufacturers and marketers of chemicals and chemical products.
Dualism
Dualism, any religious or philosophical system characterized by a fundamental opposition of two independent or complementary principles.
José Napoleón Duarte
Duarte, José Napoleón (1925–90), president of El Salvador 1980–82 (appointed) and 1984–88 (elected).
Alexander Dubcek
Dubcek, Alexander See: Czechoslovakia.
David Dubirisky
Dubirisky, David (1892–1982), U.S. labor leader; president of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (1932–66).
Dublin
Dublin (Baile Atha Cliath; 920,900), city capital of the Republic of Ireland (Eire) and of County Dublin.
Eugène Dubois
Dubois, Eugène (1858–1941), Dutch anatomist and physical anthropologist who in 1891–92, in Java, discovered the fossilized bones of a human-like creature who walked erect.
René Jules Dubos
Dubos, René Jules (1901–82), French-born U.S. microbiologist who developed tyrothricin (1939), the first antibiotic to be used clinically.
Jean Dubuffet
Dubuffet, Jean (1901–85), French artist influenced by spontaneous primitive amateur art, known as art brut (raw art).
Dubuque
Dubuque (pop. 86,403), city in eastern Iowa, seat of Dubuque County.
Duccio di Buoninsegna
Duccio di Buoninsegna (1255?–1319?), Italian painter, first great master of the Siennese school.
Marcel Duchamp
Duchamp, Marcel (1887–1968), French artist, a pioneer of dadaism, cubism, and futurism, initially influenced by Paul Cézanne.
Duck
Duck, aquatic bird, any of the smaller members of the family Anatidae, which also contains the geese and swans.
Duck hawk
Duck hawk, name used in the United States for the peregrine falcon, a bird that can fly at speeds of more than 200 mi (320 km) per hour.
Duckbill
Duckbill See: Platypus.
Duckweed
Duckweed, aquatic plant (genus Lemna) with small round leaves, no stem, and a few rootlets, and simple flowers.
Ductility
Ductility, plastic property of certain substances, notably metals, which allows them to be drawn into the form of wires or extruded through an aperture without rupturing or returning to their original shape.
Due process
Due process, constitutional guarantee of fairness in the administration of justice.
Duel
Duel, prearranged armed combat between 2 persons, usually in the presence of witnesses, for the purpose of deciding a quarrel, avenging an insult, or vindicating the honor of one of the combatants or a third party. While the purpose in modern times was seldom to kill the opponent, deaths did occur, and public ourtrage resulted in the banning of duels in most modern nations. The earliest form of du…
Guillaume Dufay
Dufay, Guillaume (1400?–74), French composer.
Raoul Dufy
Dufy, Raoul (1877–1953), French painter.
Dugong
Dugong, or sea cow, (Dugong dugong) seal-like aquatic mammal found around the coasts of the Indian Ocean from Madagascar to Australia.
Duisburg
Duisburg (pop. 536,700), trading and manufacturing city in western Germany.
Michael Stanley Dukakis
Dukakis, Michael Stanley (1933– ), U.S. politician, unsuccessful Democratic candidate for president in the 1988 election.
Paul Abraham Dukas
Dukas, Paul Abraham (1865–1935), French composer and critic.
William Claude Dukenfield
Dukenfield, William Claude See: Fields, W.C.
Dulcimer
Dulcimer, musical instrument consisting of a set of strings stretched across a thin, flat soundbox and struck with mallets.
Dulles
Dulles, name of 2 prominent U.S. lawyers and statesmen.
Duluth
Duluth (pop. 239,971), city in northeastern Minnesota at the western end of Lake Superior.
Duma
Duma, name for several elected assemblies is tsarist Russia in 1906.
Dumas
Dumas, name of two 19th-century French authors, a father and his illegitimate son.
Dumbarton Oaks Conference
Dumbarton Oaks Conference, meeting of diplomats of the “Big Four” (China, United States, USSR, and England), held Aug. 24-Oct. 7, 1944, at the Dumbarton Oaks estate in Washington, D.C.
Dun Laoghaire
Dún Laoghaire, seaport town on the east coast of Ireland, 7 mi (11 km) southeast of Dublin.
Paul Laurence Dunbar
Dunbar, Paul Laurence (1872–1906), African American poet and novelist.
William Dunbar
Dunbar, William (c.1460–1520), Scottish poet.
Isadora Duncan
Duncan, Isadora (1878–1927), U.S. pioneer of modern dance.
Dundee
Dundee (pop. 177,700), major industrial center and seaport on the east coast of Scotland.
Dung beetle
Dung beetle See: Scarab.
Katherine Dunham
Dunham, Katherine (1910– ), U.S. choreographer, dancer, and anthropologist known for her interpretations of Afro-Caribbean dance forms.
Abigail Jane Scott Duniway
Duniway, Abigail Jane Scott (1834–1915), suffragette whose efforts helped win voting rights for women in Idaho (1896), Washington (1910), and Oregon (1912).
Dunkerque
Dunkerque, or Dunkirk (pop. 73,100), seaport in northern France, on the English Channel, 10 mi (16 km) from Belgium.
William Dunlap
Dunlap, William (1766–1839), U.S. dramatist.
John Murray Dunmore h Earl of (4t)
Dunmore, John Murray, 4th Earl of (1732–809), British governor of New York (1770–1), Virginia (1771–6), and the Bahamas (1787–96).
John Ray Dunning
Dunning, John Ray (1907–75), U.S. physicist whose research on the discharge of neutrons from uranium fission contributed to the development of the atomic bomb.
John Duns Scotus
Duns Scotus, John (1265?–1308?), Scottish philosopher and theologian.
Lord Dunsany
Dunsany, Lord (1878–1957), Irish author and dramatist who created a credible fantasy world in such plays as The Gods of the Mountain (1911) and A Night at an Inn (1916).
Duodenum
Duodenum, first part of the small intestine, extending from the pylorus valve of the stomach to the jejunum.
Duplicator
Duplicator, any of various machines that make copies of two-dimensional materials from a master copy.
Duralumin
Duralumin, any of a group of aluminum-copper alloys.
Asher Brown Durand
Durand, Asher Brown (1796–1886), U.S. painter and engraver, a founder of the Hudson River School.
Will(iam James) Durant
Durant, Will(iam James) (1885–1981), U.S. educator and popular historian.
William Crapo Durant
Durant, William Crapo (1861–1947), U.S. automobile executive.
Marguerite Duras
Duras, Marguerite (1914–96), French writer, associated with the New Wave in France during the 1950s and 1960s.
Durban
Durban (pop. 982,100), city in the Republic of South Africa, province of Natal.
Durham
Durham (pop.26,500), fortress town in northern England.
Durham
Durham (pop. 136,611), city in north central North Carolina.
John George Lambton Durham t Earl of (1s)
Durham, John George Lambton, 1st Earl of (1792–1840), British statesman.
Émile Durkheim
Durkheim, Émile (1858–1917), pioneer French sociologist.
Leo Durocher
Durocher, Leo (1905– ), U.S. baseball player and manager.
Lawrence George Durrell
Durrell, Lawrence George (1912–90), English novelist and poet, known for the lyricism and vitality of his style.
Eleonora Duse
Duse, Eleonora (1859–1924), Italian dramatic actress, rivaling Sarah Bernhardt as the greatest actress of her period, notably in plays by Henrik Ibsen and by Duse's lover, Gabriele D'Annunzio.
Dushanbe
Dushanbe (pop. 602,000), capital and largest city of Tajikistan in central Asia.
Dust Bowl
Dust Bowl, area of some 50 million acres (20 million hectares) in the southern Great Plains region of the United States that, during the 1930s, suffered violent dust storms owing to accelerated soil erosion.
Dust storm
Dust storm, heavy winds carrying fine particles of earthy materials such as clay and silt for long distances.
Dutch
Dutch, western Germanic language spoken in the Netherlands and (as Flemish) in North Belgium, as well as in Suriname and the Dutch Antilles.
Dutch Antilles
Dutch Antilles See: Netherlands Antilles.
Dutch East India Company
Dutch East India Company, trading company chartered by the Netherlands States General in 1602 and given a monopoly on all Dutch trade east of the Cape of Good Hope and west of the Strait of Magellan.
Dutch East Indies
Dutch East Indies See: Indonesia.
Dutch elm disease
Dutch elm disease, severe fungal disease of the elm tree.
Dutch Guiana
Dutch Guiana See: Suriname.
Dutch West India Company
Dutch West India Company, trading and colonizing company chartered by the Netherlands States General in 1621 to compete with Portuguese and Spanish colonies in North America and Africa.
Dutch West Indies
Dutch West Indies See: Netherlands Antilles.
Dutchman's-breeches
Dutchman's-breeches, perennial plant (Dicentra cucullaria) of the Fumariaceae family.
François Duvalier
Duvalier, François (1907–71), president of Haiti (1957–71), nicknamed “Papa Doc.” A physician turned politician, he was elected to power as a reformer but ruled as dictator, helped by a political police force, the Tonton Macoutes.
Roger Antoine Duvoisin
Duvoisin, Roger Antoine (1904–80), Swiss-born U.S. author and illustrator of children's books.
Dvina River
Dvina River, name of 2 rivers in the former USSR.
Antonín Dvorák
Dvorák, Antonín (1841–1904), Czech composer and violist.
Dwarf
Dwarf, person with an underdeveloped skeleton caused by cartilage cells that fail to grow and divide properly.
Dwarf star
Dwarf star See: Star.
Dyak
Dyak, or Dayak, indigenous people of Sarawak, largest state in Malaysia on the island of Borneo.
Dye
Dye, chemical compound used to color material or food.
Bob Dylan
Dylan, Bob (Robert Allen Zimmerman; 1941– ), U.S. folksinger and composer.
Dynamite
Dynamite, high explosive invented by Alfred Nobel (1866), consisting of nitroglycerin absorbed in an inert material such as kieselguhr (a chalky earth) or wood pulp.
Dysentery
Dysentery, group of diseases characterized by inflammation of the colon resulting in pain, spasm of the rectum, intense diarrhea, and the frequent passage of small amounts of mucus and blood, with symptoms of generalized poisoning of the body.
Dyslexia
Dyslexia, difficulty in learning to read when intelligence, vision, and available education are not limiting factors.
Dyspepsia
Dyspepsia, or indigestion, abnormal visceral sensation in the upper abdomen or lower chest, often of a burning quality.
Dysprosium
Dysprosium, chemical element, symbol Dy; for physical constants see Periodic Table.
muscular Dystrophy
Dystrophy, muscular See: Muscular dystrophy.
E
E, fifth letter in the English alphabet.
Eagle
Eagle, large bird of prey of the hawk family. Eagles have large eyes with extremely keen eyesight, hooked beaks for tearing their prey, and strong feet and talons (claws) for grabbing, killing, and carrying prey. Their size and noble attitude have led to their use in national and other emblems. The bald eagle (Haliaetus teucocephalus), named for its white head and neck, is the emblem of the United…
Eagles
Eagles (2.4 m).
Thomas Eakins
Eakins, Thomas (1844–1916), U.S. realist painter.
Charles Eames
Eames, Charles (1907–78), U.S. designer who influenced contemporary furniture design.
Ear
Ear, organ of hearing and of balance. The ears convert the vibrations of air produced by sound into minute electrical impulses that can be sensed by the brain. They also contain a delicate and vital mechanism that enables the body to maintain its balance. In humans and many other higher animals, the visible part of the ear, or auricle, acts as a funnel for sound waves, directing them into the audi…
Ear shell
Ear shell See: Abalone.
Amelia Earhart
Earhart, Amelia (1898–1937), U.S. pioneer aviator.
Ralph Earl
Earl, Ralph (1751–1801), American portrait and landscape painter.
Early human being
Early human being See: Prehistoric people.
Jubal Anderson Early
Early, Jubal Anderson (1816–94), Confederate general.
Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp
Earp, Wyatt Berry Stapp (1848–1929), U.S. frontier lawman and folk hero.
Earth
Earth, only planet in the solar system on which the presence of living things is definitely known. It is the third planet outward from the sun, the fifth largest in the solar system. Together with its single moon, it travels around the sun at an average distance of 92,960,000 mi (149,600,100 km). The earth also spins on an axis that is tilted at 23.5° from a line perpendicular to its path a…
Earth science
Earth science, study of the origin, development, and makeup of the planet earth.
Earthquake
Earthquake, vibration or series of vibrations in the earth's crust. Earthquakes are the result of sudden vertical or horizontal movements along faults, or fractures, in the earth's crust. Some faults, such as the 600-mi (966-km) San Andreas fault in California, can be seen on the earth's surface, but most of the faults associated with earthquakes are underground. Scientists ha…
Earthworm
Earthworm, name of a large number of common worms of the Lumbricidae family with simple tubular bodies made up of a series of rings.
Earwig
Earwig, insect of the order Dermaptera distinguished by the pair of pincers at the tip of the abdomen.
Easement
Easement, right of a property owner to use the adjacent property of another for a specified purpose.
East
East See: Cold War.
East Berlin
East Berlin See: Berlin.
East China Sea
East China Sea See: China Sea.
East Germany
East Germany See: Germany.
East India Company
East India Company, name of several private trading companies chartered by 17th-century European governments to develop trade in the Eastern Hemisphere, after the discovery of a sea route to India.
East Indies
East Indies, formerly Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia.
East Pakistan
East Pakistan See: Bangladesh.
East River
East River, strait connecting Long Island Sound and Upper New York Bay.
East Roman Empire
East Roman Empire See: Byzantine Empire; Rome, Ancient.
Easter
Easter, chief festival of the Christian church year, celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, associated with spring and subsuming the Jewish Passover.
Easter Island
Easter Island, easternmost island of Polynesia in the South Pacific, about 2,000 mi (3,200 km) west of Chile, which annexed the island in 1888.
Easter lily
Easter lily, tall plant of the lily family bearing large, white, fragrant, trumpet-shaped flowers (especially Lilium longiflorum).
Easter Rebellion
Easter Rebellion, rebellion in Dublin, Ireland, in April 1916, in an attempt to secure Irish independence from Britain.
Eastern Hemisphere
Eastern Hemisphere See: Hemisphere.
Eastern Orthodox Church
Eastern Orthodox Church, one of the 2 major branches of the Christian Church.
Eastern question
Eastern question, international political problems raised in the 19th century by the decline of the Ottoman Empire.
Eastern Star
Eastern Star, organization associated with the men's fraternal society of the Masons.
James Oliver Eastland
Eastland, James Oliver (1904–86), Democratic U.S. senator who served from 1943 to 1979.
George Eastman
Eastman, George (1854–1932), U.S. inventor.
Max Forrester Eastman
Eastman, Max Forrester (1883–1969), U.S. poet and influential critic.
Theophilus Eaton
Eaton, Theophilus (1590–1658), founder of New Haven colony.
EB virus
EB virus See: Epstein-Barr (EB) virus.
EBCDIC
EBCDIC, in computer technology, acronym for Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code.
Richard Eberhart
Eberhart, Richard (1904– ), U.S. poet and founder of the Poet's Theatre, Cambridge, Mass.
Ebony
Ebony, hard, heavy heartwood of several trees (family Ebonaceae, genus Diospuros) native to equatorial Africa, southern Asia, and North and South America.
Ecclesiastes
Ecclesiastes, 21st book of the Old Testament.
ECG
ECG See: Electrocardiogram.
Luis Echeverria
Echeverria, Luis (1922– ), Mexican political leader.
Echidna
Echidna, or spiny anteater (Tachyglossus aculeatus), nocturnal hedgehog-like animal of Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea.
Echinoderm
Echinoderm, member of a large group, or phylum, of marine invertebrates with an external skeleton of plates just under the skin.
Echo
Echo, in Greek mythology, mountain nymph who helped Zeus carry on his affairs by distracting Hera with her endless chatter.
Echo
Echo, sound reflected or reverberated from a distant surface, with at least a 0.1-sec time lag, allowing the reflection to be distinct from the original sound; or, in computer technology, a character received from the keyboard and fed back to the printer or cathode ray tube for display.
Johann Eck
Eck, Johann (1486–1543), German scholar and theologian.
Meister Eckhart
Eckhart, Meister (Johannes Eckhart; 1260?–1328?), German theologian and preacher.
Eclampsia
Eclampsia See: Toxemia of pregnancy.
Eclipse
Eclipse, blocking off of light from the Sun from one celestial body by another. An eclipse of the Moon (lunar eclipse) occurs when the Moon enters the shadow of the Earth. An eclipse of the Sun (solar eclipse) occurs when the Earth enters the shadow of the Moon. Other planets can also eclipse their own moons, and in the case of a double star, one star can eclipse the other. There are usually 2 or …
Ecliptic
Ecliptic, in astronomy, the plane, passing through the center of the sun, that contains the orbit of the earth.
Ecology
Ecology, study of the relationships between living organisms and their environment. The earth is covered from pole to pole with a thin, intricate web of interdependent living organisms called the biosphere. Within the biosphere there are many cleaerly defined subunits, or ecosystems. Ecosystems (for example, ponds, forests, fields of grass, deserts, or oceans) vary greatly in size, but in each cas…
Econometrics
Econometrics, branch of economics that uses statistical methods to describe economic phenomena and thus discover how they affect each other.
Economic determinism
Economic determinism, theory, first fully developed by Karl Marx in the mid-1800s, that a society's basis is determined by its economic structure.
Economics
Economics, study of how goods and services are produced and how they are distributed.
Ecosystem
Ecosystem See: Ecology.
Ectoplasm
Ectoplasm, in biology, outer portion of the cytoplasm of a cell; in spiritualism, glowing substance that resembles the face or hand of a dead person, through which communication with the dead is possible.
Ecuador
Ecuador, republic in northwestern South America. It lies south of Colombia, west and north of Peru, and east of the Pacific Ocean. Its territory includes the Galapagos Islands, 650 mi (1,046 km) off the Ecuadorian coast. The country takes its name from the equator (Spanish, ecuador), which runs through the north. The capital is Quito and the country's largest city and main trading center is…
Ecumenical council
Ecumenical council, general council of the leaders of the entire Christian Church.
Ecumenical movement
Ecumenical movement, modern movement among the Christian churches to encourage greater cooperation and eventual unity.
Eczema
Eczema, collective term for many inflammatory noncontagious conditions of the skin.
Edda
Edda, name for 2 Icelandic collections about the exploits of heroes and gods: Saemund's Edda, or the Poetic Edda, and Snorri's Edda, or the Prose Edda.
Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington
Eddington, Sir Arthur Stanley (1882–1944), English astronomer and physicist.
Mary Baker Eddy
Eddy, Mary Baker (1821–1910), U.S. founder of Christian Science.
Edelweiss
Edelweiss, small flowering herb (genus Leontopodium) that grows high in the mountains of the European Alps, Asia, and South America.
Edema
Edema, or dropsy, swelling of bodily tissues due to the accumulation of fluid.
Garden of Eden
Eden, Garden of, in the Old Testament (Genesis), the first habitation of humans.
Robert Anthony Eden Earl of Avon
Eden, Robert Anthony, Earl of Avon (1897–1977), British diplomat and prime minister.
Edentate
Edentate, member of an order of mammals (Edentata) that have no teeth or only primitive, rootless teeth without enamel.
Gertrude Caroline Ederle
Ederle, Gertrude Caroline (1906– ), U.S. swimmer, the first woman to swim the English Channel.
Harold Eugene Edgerton
Edgerton, Harold Eugene (1903–1990), U.S. electrical engineer.
Maria Edgeworth
Edgeworth, Maria (1767–1849), Anglo-Irish novelist.
Edinburgh
Edinburgh (pop. 439,900), capital of Scotland since 1437 and the nation's second-largest city. The city is in southeastern Scotland south of the Firth of Forth and north of the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh Castle, crowning Castle Hill (the neck of an extinct volcano), dominates the city and separates the so-called Old Town (dating from the 11th century) to the east from the New Town (planned i…
Edirne
Edirne (pop. 86,900), formerly Adrianople, ancient city in northwest Turkey near the Greek and Bulgarian borders where the Maritsa, Arda, and Tunca rivers converge.
Thomas Alva Edison
Edison, Thomas Alva (1847–1931), U.S. inventor, the “Wizard of Menlo Park.” The New York Times calculated when he died that the total value of commercial enterprises derived from his inventions was $25,683,544,343, thus crediting his brain with the highest cash value of all time. Edison had only 3 months of formal schooling; his teacher said he was “addled.ȁ…
Sarah Emma Evelyn Edmonds
Edmonds, Sarah Emma Evelyn (1841–98), Civil War soldier who used the name Frank Thompson and a male disguise to serve as nurse, messenger, and spy for the Union Army, 1861–63.
Walter Dumaux Edmonds
Edmonds, Walter Dumaux (1903– ), U.S.writer of historical fiction.
Edmonton
Edmonton (pop. 839,900), capital of the Canadian province of Alberta, situated on the North Saskatchewan River. Edmonton was founded in 1795 by the Hudson's Bay Company on the traditional boundary between Cree and Blackfoot territories. A railroad link with Calgary, completed in 1891, helped the town to develop as a supply center and starting point for the Klondike gold rush (1898) and as a…
Edom
Edom, ancient kingdom in what is now southern Jordan, between the Dead Sea and Gulf of Aqaba.
EDP
EDP, in computer technology, acronym for Electronic Data Processing, data processing performed largely by electronic digital computers.
Education
Education, the process of establishing habits of critical and independent appraisal of information for the purpose of intellectually developing the whole person.
National Education Association
Education Association, National See: National Educational Association Of the United States.
U.S. Department of Education
Education, U.S.
vocational Education
Education, vocational See: Vocational education.
Educational measurement
Educational measurement See: Testing.
Educational psychology
Educational psychology, application of psychology to education, especially to problems of teaching and learning.
Edward
Edward, 11 kings of England.
Edward the Black Prince
Edward the Black Prince (1330–76), prince of Wales and eldest son of Edward III of England.
Saint Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor, Saint (1002?–66), king of the English 1042–66.
Edwardian era
Edwardian era, in English history, period from the accession of Edward VII to the outbreak of World War I, 1901–14.
Edwards Air Force Base
Edwards Air Force Base, site of U.S.
Jonathan Edwards
Edwards, Jonathan (1703–58), New England theologian and philosopher.
Eel
Eel, long slender fish of the order Anguilliformes, without pelvic fins and with dorsal and ventral fins joining the tail fin.
Eelgrass
Eelgrass (Zostera marina), grasslike plant of brackish estuaries and lagoons.
Eelworm
Eelworm, any of the minute nematode worms, the largest being less than 1/50 in (0.5 mm) long.
Efficiency
Efficiency, ratio of the useful work derived from a machine to the energy put into it.
Effigy mounds
Effigy mounds, prehistoric Native American burial mounds in northeastern Iowa.
Efflorescence
Efflorescence, in chemistry, loss of water from crystals.
Eft
Eft See: Newt.
EFTA
EFTA See: European Free Trade Association.
Egbert
Egbert (A.D. 775?–839), king of Wessex in England (802–39).
Egg
Egg, or ovum, in biology, female gamete or germ cell, found in all animals and in most plants.
Eggplant
Eggplant (Solanum melongena), plant of the nightshade family, native to India but now grown around the world.
Eglantine
Eglantine, or sweetbrier, fragrant, branching rose originating in England, especially Rosa eleganteria.
André Eglevsky
Eglevsky, André (1917–77), Russian-born U.S. virtuoso ballet dancer and teacher.
Ego
Ego (Latin: “I”), psychological concept, first proposed by Sigmund Freud, referring to a part of the human personality that mediates between the id, or instinct, and the superego, or conscience.
Egret
Egret, name of a group of small herons (family Ardeidae), wading birds with long necks, long legs, and pointed bills, with lacy, usually white, plumage, found around the world.
Egypt
Egypt, Arab nation in northeast Africa, bounded on the north by the Mediterranean Sea, on the east by Israel and the Red Sea, on the south by the Sudan, and on the west by Libya. The Sinai peninsula, which is the northwest corner of Egypt, is divided from the rest of the country by the Suez Canal, linking the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. Most of the country's territory is in the western d…
Ancient Egypt
Egypt, Ancient, great civilization that arose along the banks of the Nile River more than 5,000 years ago. …
Egyptology
Egyptology See: Egypt, Ancient.
Ilya Grigoryevich Ehrenburg
Ehrenburg, Ilya Grigoryevich (1891–1967), Russian writer.
Paul Ehrlich
Ehrlich, Paul (1854–1915), German bacteriologist and immunologist, founder of chemotherapy and an early pioneer of hematology.
Paul Ralph Ehrlich
Ehrlich, Paul Ralph (1932– ), U.S. ecologist.
Adolf Eichmann
Eichmann, Adolf (1906–62), German lieutenant–colonel in the Nazi Gestapo, head of the Jewish Division from 1939.
Eider
Eider, name of several species of diving ducks of northern latitudes.
Carl Ben Eielson
Eielson, Carl Ben (1897–1929), U.S. explorer and aviator.
Alexandre Gustave Eiffel
Eiffel, Alexandre Gustave (1832–1923), French engineer best known for his design and construction of the Eiffel Tower, Paris (1887–89), from which he carried out experiments in aerodynamics.
Eiffel Tower
Eiffel Tower, famous tower dominating the skyline of Paris, designed by Alexandre Gustave Eiffel as the focal point of the Universal Exposition of 1889.
Eighteenth Amendment
Eighteenth Amendment See: Volstead Act.
Christiaan Eijkman
Eijkman, Christiaan (1858–1930), Dutch pathologist.