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amalgam

(Encyclopedia)amalgam əmălˈgəm [key], alloy containing mercury. The alloy may be liquid or solid, depending on the proportion of mercury, although all naturally occurring amalgams, i.e., those of gold and silve...

Ashanti

(Encyclopedia)Ashanti äsänˈtē [key], historic and modern administrative region, central Ghana, W Africa. The region is the source of much of Ghana's cocoa. It is inhabited by the Ashanti, a matrilineal Akan peo...

Witwatersrand

(Encyclopedia)Witwatersrand wĭtwôˈtərzrăndˌ [key] [Afrik.,=white water ridge] or the Rand, region, Gauteng prov. (formerly a part of Transvaal), South Africa. The area, which forms the watershed between the V...

Klerksdorp

(Encyclopedia)Klerksdorp klĕrksˈdôrp [key], city, part and seat of the City of Matlosana local municipality, North West prov., NE South Africa, on the Schoonspruit River. The town, which has grain elevators, lum...

Bolt, Usain St. Leo

(Encyclopedia)Bolt, Usain St. Leo, 1986–, Jamaican sprinter. Unusually tall (6 ft 5 in./1.96 m) for his sport, he won the gold medal for the 200-m sprint at the 2002 world junior championships and then broke the ...

Nye, Edgar Wilson

(Encyclopedia)Nye, Edgar Wilson nī [key], known as Bill Nye, 1850–96, American humorist and journalist, b. Shirley Mills, Maine. He lived in Wisconsin from 1852 to 1876, when he went to Wyoming. There he was adm...

Vaphio cups

(Encyclopedia)Vaphio cups văfˈēō [key], pair of gold cups of Minoan workmanship, probably dating from c.1500–1400 b.c. Shaped like teacups and about 31⁄2 in. (8.9 cm) high, they were formed by fastening tog...

Vanderbilt, Cornelius

(Encyclopedia)Vanderbilt, Cornelius, 1794–1877, American railroad magnate, b. Staten Island, N.Y. As a boy he ferried freight and passengers from Staten Island to Manhattan, and he soon gained control of most of ...

Kahanamoku, Duke

(Encyclopedia)Kahanamoku, Duke, 1890–1968, American swimmer and surfer, b. Honolulu. A native Hawaiian, he was an excellent swimmer, surfer, and canoeist, and by 1911 he was setting Amateur Athletic Union swimmin...

Barkley, Charles Wade

(Encyclopedia)Barkley, Charles Wade 1963–, American basketball player, b. Leeds, Ala. After starring at Auburn Univ., he joined the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1984. Shorter...
 

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