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Behbahani, Simin

(Encyclopedia)Behbahani, Simin, 1927–2014, Iranian poet and political activist, b. Tehran as Siminbar Khalili. The daughter of intellectuals, she studied law at the Univ. of Tehran, then worked as a teacher of sc...

catamaran

(Encyclopedia)catamaran kătˌəmərănˈ [key], watercraft made up of two connected hulls or a single hull with two parallel keels. Originally used by the natives of Polynesia, the catamaran design was adopted by ...

Great Basin

(Encyclopedia)Great Basin, semiarid, N section of the Basin and Range province, the intermontane plateau region of W United States and N Mexico. Lying mostly in Nevada and extending into California, Oregon, Idaho, ...

flax

(Encyclopedia)flax, common name for members of the Linaceae, a family of annual herbs, especially members of the genus Linum, and for the fiber obtained from such plants. The flax of commerce (several varieties of ...

Bruegel

(Encyclopedia)Bruegel, Brueghel, or Breughel all: broiˈgəl, Du. bröˈgəl [key], outstanding family of Flemish genre and landscape painters. The foremost, Pieter Bruegel, the Elder, c.1525–1569, called Peasan...

tanager

(Encyclopedia)tanager tănˈəjər [key], any of the small, migratory perching birds of the family Thraupidae, chiefly of the tropical New World. Only five species migrate to North America; of these the scarlet tan...

Beaumont, William

(Encyclopedia)Beaumont, William, 1785–1853, American physician, b. Lebanon, Conn. He was privately educated and was licensed (1812) to practice in Vermont. His Experiments and Observations on the Gastric Juice an...

stickleback

(Encyclopedia)stickleback, common name for members of the family Gasterosteidae, small fishes, widely distributed in both fresh- and saltwaters of the Northern Hemisphere. Sticklebacks range from 11⁄2 to 4 in. (3...

Summerhill

(Encyclopedia)Summerhill, radical progressive school in Leiston, Suffolk, England, and the educational movement based on principles developed at the school. The school was founded (1924) by A. S. Neill, who headed ...

Shenandoah National Park

(Encyclopedia)Shenandoah National Park, 198,081 acres (80,195 hectares), N Va., extending 80 mi (129 km) along the crest of the Blue Ridge. Authorized in 1926, it was fully established as a national park in 1935. S...