Mílos
Mílos, or Milo, one of the Greek Cyclades islands in the Aegean Sea.
21st Century Webster's Family Encyclopedia - Medicare to Missionary
Mérida
Mérida (pop. 557,300), founded in 1542, now the largest city on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico.
Prosper Mérimée
Mérimée, Prosper (1803–70), French author, historian, archeologist, and linguist.
Medicare
Medicare, U.S. government-financed system of medical and hospital insurance for people aged 65 and over.
Medici
Medici, Italian family of bankers, princes, and patrons of the arts who controlled Florence almost continually from the 1420s to 1737 and provided cardinals, popes (Leo X, Clement VII, and Leo XI), and 2 queens of France. The foundations of the family's power were laid by Giovanni di Bicci de'Medici (1360–1429), who achieved wealth through banking and commerce. His elder son, …
Medicine
Medicine, the art and science of treating disease.
patent Medicine
Medicine, patent See: Patent medicine.
Medieval period
Medieval period See: Middle Ages.
Joseph Medill
Medill, Joseph (1823–99), Canadian-born U.S. editor and publisher of the Chicago Tribune, and a builder of the Republican Party.
Medina
Medina (pop. 350,000), holy Muslim city and place of pilgrimage in Hejaz, Saudi Arabia, 210 mi (338 km) north of Mecca.
Harold Raymond Medina
Medina, Harold Raymond (1888–1990), U.S. jurist.
Mediterranean fruit fly
Mediterranean fruit fly, or Medfly (Ceratitis capitata), pest of fruit in Africa, Australia, and the United States, attacking, in particular, peaches, apricots, and citrus fruits.
Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea, intercontinental sea between Europe, Asia, and Africa (over 965,000 sq mi—2,500,000 sq km). It opens into the Atlantic Ocean in the west through the Strait of Gibraltar, and into the Black Sea through the Dardanelles and Bosporus. The Suez Canal provides the Mediterranean Sea's link with the Red Sea and on to the Indian Ocean. Peninsular Italy, Sicily, Malta, and P…
Medusa
Medusa, in Greek mythology one of three equally hideous-looking sisters (Gorgons).
Medusa
Medusa See: Jellyfish.
Ezra Meeker
Meeker, Ezra (1830–1928), U.S. author and explorer of the Oregon Trail.
Meerkat
Meerkat, or suricate (Suricata suricatta), small, insect-eating mammal of the family Herpestidae, native to dry regions of southern Africa.
Zubin Mehta
Mehta, Zubin (1936– ), Indian-born U.S. conductor who studied at the Vienna Academy of Music and later became musical director of the Montreal Symphony (1961–67), Los Angeles Philharmonic (1962–78), and New York Philharmonic (1978–91).
Arthur Meighen
Meighen, Arthur (1874–1960), 2-term Canadian prime minister.
Meiji
Meiji (1852–1912), emperor of Japan (1867–1912); his given name was Mutsuhito.
Mein Kampf
Mein Kampf (German, “My Struggle”), Adolf Hitler's book detailing his life and beliefs, published in 2 volumes (1925, 1927; English trans., 1933, 1939).
Golda Meir
Meir, Golda (1898–1978), Israeli leader, prime minister of Israel (1969–74).
Lise Meitner
Meitner, Lise (1878–1968), Austrian physicist who worked with Otto Hahn to discover protactinium (1917).
Mekong River
Mekong River, one of the chief rivers of the southeastern region of Asia, rising in the Tibetan highlands.
Melaka
Melaka (pop. 88,100), Malaysian port city.
Philipp Melanchthon
Melanchthon, Philipp (1497–1560), German scholar and humanist, second to Luther in initiating and leading the Protestant Reformation in Germany.
Melanesia
Melanesia See: Pacific Islands.
Melanin
Melanin See: Skin.
Melbourne
Melbourne (pop. 3,080,900), second-largest city in Australia and capital of Victoria, on the Yarra River.
Andrew William Mellon
Mellon, Andrew William (1855–1937), U.S. financier, industrialist, U.S. treasury secretary (1921–31), and U.S. ambassador to Britain (1931–32).
Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
Mellon Foundation, Andrew W., philanthropic organization that grants funds to educational, scientific, public affairs and cultural institutions.
Melodrama
Melodrama, originally a term used to refer to a passage in opera spoken over an orchestral accompaniment but more usually used to describe the sentimental drama of the 19th century in which characters were either good or bad.
Melon
Melon, fruit of Cucumis melo, a plant of the gourd family that grows wild in Africa and Asia.
Melos
Melos See: Milos.
Meltdown
Meltdown See: Nuclear reactor.
Herman Melville
Melville, Herman (1819–91), U.S. writer.
Melville Island
Melville Island, Canadian island in the Arctic Ocean.
Memel
Memel See: Klaipeda.
Hans Memling
Memling, Hans (1430–94), Flemish painter famous for his portraits and religious works, including the paneled Shrine of St.
Memorial Day
Memorial Day, or Decoration Day, U.S. holiday honoring the dead of all wars, observed on the last Mon. in May.
Memphis
Memphis, capital of the Old Kingdom of ancient Egypt until c.2200 B.C.
Memphis
Memphis (pop. 610,300), largest city and chief river port of Tennessee, seat of Shelby County, on the high east banks bluffs of the Mississippi River below the mouth of the Wolf River.
Menander
Menander (342-c.291 B.C.), leading Greek writer of New comedy.
Mencius
Mencius (Mengke; 370–290 B.C.), Chinese philosopher.
H(enry) L(ouis) Mencken
Mencken, H(enry) L(ouis) (1880–1956), U.S. journalist and author, caustic critic of U.S. society and literature.
Gregor Johann Mendel
Mendel, Gregor Johann (1822–84), Austrian botanist and Augustinian monk who laid the foundations of the science of genetics.
Mendel's laws
Mendel's laws See: Genetics; Mendel, Gregor Johann.
Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev
Mendeleev, Dmitri Ivanovich (1834–1907), Russian chemist who formulated (1869) the Periodic Law, stating that the properties of elements vary periodically with increasing atomic weight.
Mendelevium
Mendelevium, chemical element, symbol Md; for physical constants see Periodic Table.
Felix Mendelssohn
Mendelssohn, Felix (1809–47), German Romantic composer.
Moses Mendelssohn
Mendelssohn, Moses (1729–1786), German-Jewish philosopher and scholar, a leading figure of the Enlightenment in Prussia, and a promoter of Jewish assimilation into German culture.
Josef Mengele
Mengele, Josef (1911–79?), Nazi war criminal.
Menhaden
Menhaden, marine fish (Brevoortia tyrannus) of the herring family.
Meningitis
Meningitis (cerebrospinal meningitis), inflammation of the menninges caused by bacteria or viruses.
Menninger
Menninger, U.S. family of psychiatrists.
Mennonites
Mennonites, Protestant sect originating among the Anabaptists of Zurich, Switzerland.
Menominee
Menominee, Native American tribe of the Algonquian linguistic group.
Gian Carlo Menotti
Menotti, Gian Carlo (1911– ), Italian-born U.S. composer of operas and founder (1958) of the Festival of Two Worlds at Spoleto, Italy.
Mensheviks
Mensheviks, name for the position of the minority group in the Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party-opposition to the Bolsheviks, the majority group led by Vladimir Ilyich Lenin.
Menstruation
Menstruation, in women of reproductive age, specifically the monthly loss of blood (period), representing shedding of womb endometrium; in general, the whole monthly cycle of hormonal, structural, and functional changes, punctuated by menstrual blood loss. After each period, the endometrium (womb-lining) starts to proliferate and thicken under the influence of gonadotrophins (follicle-stimulating …
Mental age
Mental age See: Intelligence quotient.
Mental illness
Mental illness, any of several diseases of the mind manifesting itself as disordered thoughts or feelings, or behavior which is apparently irrational or which deviates from socially and culturally accepted norms. The modern concept of mental illness rests on 3 foundations. The oldest of these consists of norms of feeling, development, and behavior defined by society and prevailing in a culture at …
Mental retardation
Mental retardation, low intellectual capacity, arising not from mental illness but from impairment of the normal development of the brain and nervous system.
Yehudi Menuhin
Menuhin, Yehudi (1916– ), U.S. violinist and conductor.
Mephistopheles
Mephistopheles, in medieval legend, the devil to whom Faust sold his soul.
Mercantilism
Mercantilism, economic system prevailing in 16th- to 18th-century western Europe that reflected the increased importance of the merchant.
Gerardus Mercator
Mercator, Gerardus (Gerhard Kremer; 1512–94), geographer and cartographer best known for his world map.
Merchandising
Merchandising See: Marketing.
Merchant marine
Merchant marine, commercial shipping operations of a maritime nation and the personnel who operate the ships.
Merchant Marine Academy
Merchant Marine Academy See: United States Merchant Marine Academy.
Mercury (element)
Mercury (element), chemical element, symbol Hg; for physical constants see Periodic Table.
Mercury (mythology)
Mercury (mythology), in Roman mythology, god of commerce and wealth; associated with Hermes in Greek mythology.
Mercury (planet)
Mercury (planet), in astronomy, planet closest to the sun, with a mean solar distance of 36 million mi (57.9 million km). Its eccentric elliptical orbit brings it within 28.5 million mi (46 million km) of the sun at perihelion (point nearest to the sun) and takes it 43.5 million mi (70 million km) from the sun at aphelion (point farthest from the sun). Its diameter is 3,031 mi (4,878 km), and its …
Mercury program
Mercury program See: Space exploration.
George Meredith
Meredith, George (1828–1909), English novelist and poet.
Merganser
Merganser, fish-eating duck of the family Anatidae, found in many parts of the world.
Ottmar Mergenthaler
Mergenthaler, Ottmar (1854–99), German-American inventor of the Linotype machine, an automatic typesetting device.
Merit badge
Merit badge See: Boy Scouts.
Merlin
Merlin See: Round Table.
Merovingian
Merovingian, dynasty of Frankish kings (A.D. 428–751) who governed Gaul.
Robert Merrill
Merrill, Robert (1919– ), internationally acclaimed New York-born baritone opera singer.
Merrimack
Merrimack See: Monitor and Merrimack.
Merrimack River
Merrimack River, stream of New England, flows 110 mi (177 km) from the White Mountains of New Hampshire through northeastern Massachusetts to the Atlantic Ocean.
River Mersey
Mersey, River, major trade waterway rising in the Pennine Hills of northwest England and entering the Irish Sea.
Robert King Merton
Merton, Robert King (1910– ), U.S. sociologist.
Thomas Merton
Merton, Thomas (1915–68), U.S. religious writer of poetry, meditative works and an autobiography, The Seven Storey Mountain (1948).
Merv
Merv, ruined city in the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic, situated near the modern city of Mary.
Mesa
Mesa (Spanish, “table”), used in the western and southwestern United States for a steep-sided, flat-topped hill or isolated tableland, such as Mesa Encantada (Enchanted Mesa) in New Mexico and Mesa Verde (Green Mesa) in Colorado.
Mesabi Range
Mesabi Range, hills in northeastern Minnesota, northwest of Lake Superior from Babbitt to Grand Rapids; highest point is 2,000 ft (610 m).
Mescaline
Mescaline, nonaddictive hallucinogen derived from the Mexican peyote cactus (Lophophora williamsii). Because peyote is bitter-tasting and causes a burning sensation and itching of mucous membranes, the “buttons” are brewed with tea or chewed while drinking beverages. Pure mescaline is more potent than peyote powder, which may be mixed with gelatine or injected intravenously in decoct…
Meshed
Meshed (pop. 1,120,000), capital city of Khorsn province, northeastern Iran.
Franz Mesmer or Friedrich Anton
Mesmer, Franz, or Friedrich Anton (1734–1815), Austrian physician who theorized (1775) that a person may transmit universal forces to others through “animal magnetism.” Controversy over his unusual techniques and theories, involving the beneficial effects of a magnet upon an occult force within the subject, forced Mesmer to flee Austria (1778) for Paris.
Mesolithic Period
Mesolithic Period See: Stone Age.
Meson
Meson, subatomic particle of a family called hadrons, which act via a strong nuclear force that holds together an atomic nucleus.
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia (Greek, “between the rivers”), ancient region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in southwestern Asia.
Mesosphere
Mesosphere, layer of the atmosphere immediately above the stratosphere, marked by a temperature maximum (about 10°C/ 50°F) between altitudes of about 30 mi-50 mi (58–80 km).
Mesozoic Era
Mesozoic Era See: Dinosaur; Reptile.
Mesquite
Mesquite, or screw bean, tough shrub or tree (genus Prosopis) that grows in the stony deserts of the southwestern United States and similar regions.
Messenia
Messenia, region in the southern peninsula of Greece and seat of the ancient Mycenaean civilization.
Olivier Messiaen
Messiaen, Olivier (1908–92), French composer, organist, teacher, and theorist.
Messiah
Messiah (Hebrew, “anointed one”), according to Israelite prophets, especially Isaiah, the ruler whom God would send to restore Israel and begin a glorious age of peace and righteousness.
Charles Messier
Messier, Charles (1730–1817), French astronomer and compiler of an extensive catalog of celestial sources of light that are not stars.
Messina
Messina (pop. 232,900), city on Sicily's northeast coast, on the Strait of Messina.
Metabolism
Metabolism, sum total of all chemical reactions that occur in a living organism.
Metal
Metal, element that has high specific gravity; high opacity and reflectivity to light (giving a characteristic luster when polished); ability to be hammered into thin sheets and drawn into wires (i.e., is malleable and ductile); and is a good conductor of heat and electricity, its electrical conductivity decreasing with temperature.
Metallurgy
Metallurgy, the science and technology of extracting metals from ores, the methods of refining, purifying, and preparing them for use, and the study of the structure and physical properties of metals and alloys.
Metamorphic rock
Metamorphic rock, one of the 3 main classes of rocks of the earth's crust—the class that has undergone change owing to heat, pressure, or chemical action.
Metamorphosis
Metamorphosis, in zoology, changes undergone from larvae to a mature adult stage.
Metaphysical poets
Metaphysical poets, early 17th-century English lyric poets whose style relied on the metaphysical conceit, an elaborate metaphorical image.
Metaphysics
Metaphysics, branch of philosophy that addresses the fundamentals of existence or reality, such as the existence and nature of God, immortality of the soul, meaning of evil, the problem of freedom and determinism, and relationship of mind and body.
Ionannis Metaxas
Metaxas, Ionannis (1871–1941), Greek general and from 1936 ultraroyalist premier and dictator of Greece.
Metazoan
Metazoan, in zoology, multicellular animal, member of the group Metazoa, distinguished from single-celled protozoans.
Elie Metchnikoff
Metchnikoff, Elie (1845–1916), Russian biologist who shared with Paul Ehrlich the 1908 Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine for his discovery of phagocytes (in humans, called leukocytes) and their role in defending the body from, for example, bacteria.
Meteor
Meteor, small speck of material from space, about the size of a grain of sand.
Meteorology
Meteorology, study of the atmosphere and its phenomena, weather, and climate.
Meter
Meter, basic unit of length in the metric system.
Methadone
Methadone, synthetic narcotic used extensively to treat heroin addicts.
Methamphetamine
Methamphetamine, generic name of a powerful drug that is a derivate of and similar to amphetamine.
Methane
Methane (CH4), colorless, odorless gas; the simplest alkane.
Methanol
Methanol (CH3OH), also called methyl alcohol or wood alcohol, type of alcohol with many industrial uses.
Methodists
Methodists, doctrine and polity of Protestant churches that originated in the 18th-century evangelical revival led by John and Charles Wesley.
Methuselah
Methuselah, oldest person in the Bible.
Methyl alcohol
Methyl alcohol See: Methanol.
Methylbenzene
Methylbenzene See: Toluene.
Metre
Metre See: Meter; Metric system.
Metric system
Metric system, decimal system of measurement, first adopted in France during the Revolution (1790s), called the Systeme International d'Unites, or SI.
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art, largest and most comprehensive art museum in the United States, founded in 1870 in New York City.
Metternich
Metternich (Clemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar von Metternich; 1773–1859), Austrian diplomat.
Metz
Metz (pop. 123,900), city in northeastern France on the Moselle River, a center for iron and coal mining.
Meuse River
Meuse River, rises in the Langres Plateau, France, and flows north for about 580 mi (933 km) across Belgium and the Netherlands, where it is named Maas, into the North Sea.
Mexicali
Mexicali (pop. 602,400), city in Mexico founded in 1903.
Mexican Americans
Mexican Americans See: Hispanic Americans.
Mexican hairless
Mexican hairless, dog that derives its name because it has no coat of hair.
Mexican turnip
Mexican turnip See: Jicama.
Mexican War
Mexican War (1846–48), conflict between Mexico and the United States that resulted in the defeat of Mexico and America's acquisition of territory that became California, Nevada, Utah, most of New Mexico and Arizona, and parts of Colorado and Wyoming. The war took place against a background of expansionist sentiment (Manifest Destiny) in the United States, which held that it was desti…
Mexico
Mexico, the United Mexican States, a federal republic occupying the southernmost portion of the North American continent. Mexico is bounded by the United States to the north, Guatemala and Belize to the south, the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico on the east, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. Mexico is nearly 1,200 mi/1,930 km long with an area of 761,530 sq mi/1,972,544 sqkm. Two mountain ra…
Mexico City
Mexico City (pop. 8,236,900), capital and largest city of Mexico.
Julius Lothar Meyer
Meyer, Julius Lothar (1830–1895), German scientist who developed the periodic chart of the elements which organizes the elements according to atomic weight and property.
Giacomo Meyerbeer
Meyerbeer, Giacomo (1791–1864), German composer.
Miami (city)
Miami (city) (pop. 367,000), city in southeast Florida, at the mouth of the Miami River on Biscayne Bay.
Miami (tribe)
Miami (tribe), member of Algonquian-speaking Native American group, of the Great Lakes region.
Mica
Mica, group of minerals that split into thin, flat sheets of aluminum, silicon, and oxygen.
Book of Micah
Micah, Book of, sixth of the Old Testament Minor Prophets.
Michaelmas daisy
Michaelmas daisy See: Aster.
Hartmut Michel
Michel, Hartmut (1948– ), German biochemist, head of biophysics division (Frankfurt am Main) of the Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry (1987– ).
Michelangelo
Michelangelo (Michelangelo Buonarroti; 1475–1564), Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet. As a child he was apprenticed to the Florentine painter Ghirlandaio; in adolescence he was a protégé of Lorenzo de Medici. He went to Rome in 1496, where his marble Pietà in Saint Peter's (1498–99) established him as the foremost living sculptor. In Florence …
James Albert Michener
Michener, James Albert (1907–97), U.S. author.
Michigan
Michigan, state in the Great Lakes region of midwestern United States; it consists of two separate land masses, the Upper Peninsula and the Lower Peninsula. The Upper Peninsula is bordered by Lake Superior to the north, St. Marys River (dividing it from Canada) to the east, the Straits of Mackinac and Lake Michigan to the south, and Wisconsin to the south and west. The Lower Peninsula is bordered …
Lake Michigan
Michigan, Lake, third largest of the Great Lakes, in North America.
Micmac
Micmac, Canadian Native Americans of New France (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and coastal Quebec), of the Algonquian language group.
Microbe
Microbe, see: Microbiology.
Microbiology
Microbiology (formerly called bacteriology), study of microorganisms, including bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoans, yeasts, and algae.
Microcomputer
Microcomputer, complete small computer system, consisting of hardware and software, whose main processing parts are made of semiconductor integrated circuits.
Microelectronics
Microelectronics, branch of technology and electronics that deals with the production of miniature electronic devices that use minimal electric power.
Microfiche
Microfiche See: Microfilm.
Microfilm
Microfilm, photographic film used for recording and storing graphic information in a reduced size.
Micronesia
Micronesia (Federated States of), Island state of 670 islands and atols in the western Pacific Ocean.
Microorganism
Microorganism See: Microbiology.
Microphone
Microphone, instrument (invented c. 1880) for transmitting or intensifying sounds, by means of electricity that converts sound waves into electrical waves.
Microprocessor
Microprocessor, integrated circuit that performs the functions of a large computer on a tiny “chip” of silicon.
Microscope
Microscope, instrument for producing enlarged images of small objects. In the compound microscope a magnified, inverted image of an object resting on the “stage” (a platform) is produced by the objective lens, or lens system. This image is viewed through the eyepiece (or ocular) lens, which acts as a simple microscope, giving a greatly magnified image. Generally the object is viewed …
Microwave
Microwave, electromagnetic wave in the superhigh frequency radio spectrum (890 to 300,000 megacycles per sec).
Midas
Midas, in Greek mythology, king of Phrygia who was given the power by the god Dionysus to turn whatever he touched into gold.
Middle Ages
Middle Ages (A.D. 400–1500), also known as the medieval period, era in western European history between the fall of the Roman Empire and the beginnings of modern European civilization.
Middle East
Middle East, region, mostly in southwestern Asia but extending into southeastern Europe and northeastern Africa.
Arthur Middleton
Middleton, Arthur (1742–87), South Carolina planter and one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.
Thomas Middleton
Middleton, Thomas (1580–1627), English dramatist.
Midge
Midge, large group (about 2,000 species) of tiny flies belonging to the Chironomidae family.
Midget
Midget, human dwarf having normal body proportions, mental capacity, and sexual development.
Midway Island
Midway Island, group of islands (2 sq mi/5.2 sq km) northwest of Honolulu.
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
Mies van der Rohe, Ludwig (1886–1969), German-born U.S. architect, famous for functional but elegant buildings in the International Style, constructed of brick, steel, and glass.
Thomas Mifflin
Mifflin, Thomas (1744–1800), American soldier and political leader.
Mignonette
Mignonette, decorative garden plant belonging to the Resedaceae family.
George Mikan
Mikan, George (1924– ), U.S. basketball player.
Branko Mikulic
Mikulic, Branko (1928– ), premier of Yugoslavia (1986–88).
Milan
Milan (pop. 1,358,600), city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy.
Milan Decree
Milan Decree, order issued by Napoleon I of France in December, 1807.
Mildew
Mildew, general name for superficial growth of many types of fungi often found on plants and material derived from plants.
Nelson Appleton Miles
Miles, Nelson Appleton (1839–1925), U.S. soldier, army commander in chief (1895–1903).
Darius Milhaud
Milhaud, Darius (1892–1974), French composer, one of the Parisian group called Les Six, noted for his polytonality (the simultaneous use of different keys).
U.S. Military Academy
Military Academy, U.S.
compulsory Military service
Military service, compulsory See: Draft, military.
Milk
Milk, liquid secreted by the mammary glands of female mammals.
Milk snake
Milk snake, small king snake (Lampropeltis triangulum), found in North America, from the northeastern United States to Mexico.
Milkweed
Milkweed, any of various perennial plants (genus Asclepias) that secrete latex.
Milky Way
Milky Way, spiral galaxy with a radius of about 50,000 light-years, containing some 100 billion stars.
Mill
Mill, name of British literary family famed for their work in history, philosophy, economics, and psychology. James Mill (1773–1836) gained recognition with his book A History of British India but whose great contribution came through his work as the disciple of Jeremy Bentham, the father of utilitarianism. Mill was instrumental in explaining the fundamental tenets of the utilitarian doctri…
Sir John Everett Millais
Millais, Sir John Everett (1829–96), English painter, a founder of the Pre-Raphaelite “brotherhood” (1848).
Edna St. Vincent Millay
Millay, Edna St.
Arthur Miller
Miller, Arthur (1915– ), U.S. playwright.
Glenn Miller
Miller, Glenn (1904–44), U.S. trombonist and bandleader of the big band “swing” era of the late 1930s and early 1940s.
Henry Miller
Miller, Henry (1891–1980), U.S. writer, noted for his candid treatment of sex and his espousal of the “natural man.” Tropic of Cancer (1934) and Tropic of Capricorn (1939) were banned as obscene in the United States until 1961.
Lewis Miller
Miller, Lewis See: Chautauqua Movement.
Millerites
Millerites See: Adventists.
Millet
Millet, common name for several varieties of cereal that grow on poor soil and ripen rapidly in hot sun.
Jean François Millet
Millet, Jean François (1814–75), French painter.
ex parte Milligan
Milligan, ex parte See: Ex Parte Milligan.
Robert Andrews Millikan
Millikan, Robert Andrews (1868–1953), U.S. physicist.
Milliliter
Milliliter, in the metric system, unit of capacity equal to one-thousandth (.001) of a liter.
Millimeter
Millimeter See: Metric system.
Millimicrosecond
Millimicrosecond See: Metric system.
Millipede
Millipede, segmented arthropod having two pairs of legs on each body segment (unlike centipedes, which have only one pair of legs per segment).
C(harles) Wright Mills
Mills, C(harles) Wright (1916–62), U.S. sociologist and critic of U.S. capitalism and militarism whose work was influential with radical social scientists of the 1970s.
Robert Mills
Mills, Robert (1781–1855), U.S. architect and engineer.
A(lan) A(lexander) Milne
Milne, A(lan) A(lexander) (1882–1956), English writer and dramatist.
Milo
Milo See: Sorghum.
Miltiades
Miltiades (c.540?–488? B.C.), Athenian general who defeated the invading Persians at the battle of Marathon (490 B.C.).
John Milton
Milton, John (1608–74), English poet.
Milwaukee
Milwaukee (pop. 617,000), largest city in Wisconsin, seat of Milwaukee County, in the southeast region of the state.
Mimosa
Mimosa, any of several tropical American plants (genus Mimosa) of the pulse family, with pink flowers and small leaves.
Jozsef Mindszenty
Mindszenty, Jozsef (1892–1975), Hungarian Roman Catholic cardinal who was sentenced (1949) to life imprisonment for his opposition to communism.
Mineral
Mineral, in biology, inorganic element vital to human health.
Mineral
Mineral, in geology, naturally occurring inorganic substance with a particular chemical composition and definite physical properties.
Minerva
Minerva, in Roman mythology, daughter of Jupiter.
United Mineworkers of America
Mineworkers of America, United (UMW), U.S. labor union for workers in coal mines and coal industries.
Ming dynasty
Ming dynasty, imperial family that ruled China from 1368–1644.
Miniature schnauzer
Miniature schnauzer, dog breed developed in Germany in the 19th century.
Minimalism
Minimalism, art movement initiated in the 1960s that stressed pure color and geometry.
Mining
Mining, extraction of minerals and ores from the earth. There are various types of mines. The open pit mine is used when the desired minerals lie near the surface. It usually consists of a series of terraces that are worked back in parallel so that the mineral is always within reach of the excavating machines. In strip mining a surface layer is peeled off to reach a usually thin mineral seam (ofte…
Mink
Mink, semiaquatic carnivore (genus Mustela) of the weasel family, extensively farmed for its fur.
Minneapolis
Minneapolis (pop. 362,700), largest city of Minnesota and seat of Hennepin County, on the upper Mississippi River, contiguous to its twin city, St.
Minnehaha
Minnehaha, in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem The Song of Hiawatha (1855), a young Native American woman.
Minnesinger
Minnesinger, minstrel-poet of medieval Germany.
Minnesota
Minnesota, state in the Great Lakes region of the midwestern United States; bordered by Canada to the north, Lake Superior and Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the south, and South Dakota and North Dakota to the west. Minnesota's 4 main land regions are the Superior Upland, the Young Drift Plains, the Dissected Till Plains, and the Driftless Area. The Superior Upland, in northeastern Minnesot…
Minnow
Minnow, common name for many small freshwater fishes found throughout the world except for South America and Australia.
Minoan civilization
Minoan civilization, Bronze Age culture that flourished on the island of Crete during the 3rd and 2nd millenniums B.C.
Minor leagues
Minor leagues See: Baseball.
Minorca
Minorca, or Menorca, one of the Balearic Islands off the eastern coast of Spain.
Minos
Minos, in Greek mythology, wealthy king of Crete who commanded the artisan Daedalus to construct a labyrinthine prison for a beast called the Minotaur, to whom the young people of Athens were regularly sacrificed.
George Minot
Minot, George (1885–1950), U.S. physician who developed a cure for the once-fatal blood disease called pernicious anemia.
Minsk
Minsk (pop. 1,613,000), capital city of the Byelorussia, located on the Svisloch River.
Minstrel
Minstrel, wandering professional entertainers who flourished in medieval Europe.
Minstrel show
Minstrel show, form of entertainment popular in the United States from about 1840 to 1900.
Mint
Mint, in botany, family of square-stemmed plants with white, blue, purple, or red flowers in the form of a lipped tube.
Earl of Minto
Minto, Earl of (1845–1914), British governor general of Canada (1898–1904) and viceroy of India (1905–10).
Peter Minuit
Minuit, Peter (c. 1580–1638), Dutch colonial administrator in North America.
Minuteman
Minuteman, member of a volunteer militia during the American Revolutionary War, ready to take up arms “at a minute's notice.” Massachusetts minutemen fought at the battles of Lexington and Concord (1775).
Miocene
Miocene, last epoch but one of the Tertiary period, which lasted from 25 to 10 million years ago.
Joan Miró
Miró, Joan (1893–1983), Spanish painter.
Mira
Mira, variable star about 270 light-years away from the earth.
Comte de Mira beau
Mira beau, Comte de (1749–91), French revolutionary leader.
Miracle play
Miracle play See: Mystery play.
Mirage
Mirage, optical illusion in the atmosphere in which the refraction of light passing through air layers of different densities causes non-existent images to be seen.
Miramichi River
Miramichi River, Canadian waterway located in New Brunswick.
Francisco de Miranda
Miranda, Francisco de (1750–1816), Venezuelan patriot who fought for the forces of freedom on 3 continents.
Miranda v. Arizona
Miranda v.
Misdemeanor
Misdemeanor, crime that is not as serious as a felony.
Yukio Mishima
Mishima, Yukio (Kimitake Hiraoka; 1925–70), Japanese author.
guided Missile
Missile, guided See: Guided missile.
Missionary
Missionary, individual sent to a foreign territory or country to educate others in particular religious tradition.