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Whittier

(Encyclopedia)Whittier, city (1990 pop. 77,671), Los Angeles co., S Calif.; in an oil area; inc. 1898. Mainly residential, it has food processing and plants that manufacture transportation equipment; machinery; cla...

Weizsäcker, Richard Karl Freiherr von

(Encyclopedia)Weizsäcker, Richard Karl Freiherr von, 1920–2015, German political leader. After serving in World War II, Weizsäcker earned a law degree from the Univ. of Göttingen (1953), then worked in the pri...

Tonson, Jacob

(Encyclopedia)Tonson, Jacob tŏnˈsən [key], 1656?–1736, English publisher. He and his brother Richard purchased the publication rights to Milton's Paradise Lost, a transaction later claimed as the firm's most p...

waltz

(Encyclopedia)waltz, romantic dance in moderate triple time. It evolved from the German Ländler and became popular in the 18th cent. The dance is smooth, graceful, and vital in performance. The waltz in Vicente Ma...

Valkyries

(Encyclopedia)Valkyries vălkērˈēz [key], in Germanic mythology, warrior maidens of Odin. They presided over battles, chose those who were to die, and brought the souls of the dead heroes back to Valhalla. Chief...

Surrey, Henry Howard, earl of

(Encyclopedia)Surrey, Henry Howard, earl of, 1517?–1547, English poet; son of Thomas Howard, 3d duke of Norfolk. His irascibility and continuous vaunting of his descent from Edward I resulted in his imprisonment ...

John of Gaunt

(Encyclopedia)John of Gaunt [Mid. Eng. Gaunt=Ghent, his birthplace], 1340–99, duke of Lancaster; fourth son of Edward III of England. He married (1359) Blanche, heiress of Lancaster, and through her became earl (...

Shore, Jane

(Encyclopedia)Shore, Jane, or Elizabeth Shore, d. 1527?, mistress of Edward IV of England. The wife of William Shore, a goldsmith, she became c.1470 mistress to Edward IV and exerted a great influence over the king...

Pontefract

(Encyclopedia)Pontefract pŏnˈtĭfrăkt, pŭmˈfrĭt [key], town (1991 pop. 28,621), Wakefield metropolitan district, N England. It is an industrial city; furniture, iron products, and textiles are made. Pomfret c...

Pompeo, Mike

(Encyclopedia)Pompeo, Mike (Michael Richard Pompeo), 1963–, U.S. politician and government official, b. Orange, Calif., grad. U.S. Military Academy, 1986, Harvard Law School, 1994. He served in the army as a cava...
 

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