its size. As a result, it is one of the countrys
most crowded states. Most of its
people live in cities or towns. Bridgeport,
on the coast, is the largest city.
Other large cities are Hartford, New
Haven, and Stamford.
Economy
Real estate, finance, and the insurance
industry are major parts of Connecticuts
economy. Hartford is known as the
Insurance Capital of theWorld because
of the many insurance companies with
offices there. Manufacturing businesses
in Connecticut produce jet aircraft
engines, computer equipment, chemicals,
machinery, and other goods. Hart-
184 Connecticut BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
Facts About
CAMEROON
Population
(2005 estimate)
16,988,000
Area
183,569 sq mi
(475,442 sq km)
Capital
Yaounde
f
Bush, George
After serving two terms as vice president,
George Bush became the 41st
president of the United States in 1989.
The main event of Bushs presidency
was the Persian GulfWar.
Early Life
George HerbertWalker Bush was born
on June 12, 1924, in Milton, Massachusetts.
His family later moved to Greenwich,
Connecticut. George was the
second of five children born to Prescott
Sheldon Bush and DorothyWalker
Bush. His father was a banker and later a
U.S. senator.
In 1942 Bush joined the U.S. Naval
Reserve. As a Navy pilot, he flew many
missions in the Pacific duringWorld
War II. In 1945 Bush married Barbara
Pierce. After the war he attended Yale
University and earned a degree in economics.
Bush then moved to Texas,
where he helped start three companies
dealing in oil and drilling equipment.
Political Career
As a member of the Republican Party,
Bush ran for the U.S. Senate in 1964
June 12,
1924 1966 1976 1980 1988 1991 1992
Bush is born
in Milton,
Massachusetts.
Bush is elected
to the U.S.
House of
Representatives.
Bush becomes
the head of
the Central
Intelligence
Agency.
Bush is elected
vice president
under President
Ronald
Reagan.
Bush is elected
president.
The United
States and
allies defeat
Iraq in the
Persian Gulf
War.
Bush loses the
presidential
election to Bill
Clinton.
T I M E L I N E
George Bush was the 41st president of the
United States.
154 Bush, George BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
June 12,
1924 1966 1976
Bush is born
in Milton,
Massachusetts.
Bush is elected
to the U.S.
House of
Representatives.
the Cent
Intelligen
Agency.
#More to explore
Flower Marigold Plant Sunflower
Acropolis means city at the
top in Greek.
(See Acropolis.)
Airships float in the air like
balloons, but they have engines
and can be steered.
(See Airship.)
Alchemists were people who
were famous for trying to turn
lead into gold.
(See Alchemy.)
Almonds are commonly called
nuts, but they are actually
seeds.
(See Almond.)
At least six types of amoeba
are found in human beings.
(See Amoeba.)
Knights in Europe once wore
armor made of large steel or
iron plates.
(See Armor.)
Aa
Aardvark
The unusual mammal called the aardvark
was named by South Africans in
the early 1800s. In the local language,
Afrikaans, aardvark means earth pig.
This name aptly describes a large,
heavily built animal with thin hair and
short, stumpy legs. The scientific name
of the aardvark is Orycteropus afer.
Aardvarks live in dry places in Africa
south of the Sahara Desert. The aardvark
can reach a length of 6 feet (1.8 meters).
Its head has huge donkeylike ears, a long
snout, and drooping eyelids with long
lashes. During the day aardvarks sleep in
underground burrows. At night they dig
underground for their favorite food,
termites. They break open the termites
nests with their massive, flattened claws.
Then they suck up the insects with their
long tongue.
Female aardvarks give birth to one baby
per year. After a few weeks the baby
begins to follow its mother around. It
goes off on its own before it is 1 year
old. Aardvarks can live for more than 20
years in zoos.
Aaron, Hank
On April 8, 1974, major league baseball
star Hank Aaron hit his 715th home
run. That home run broke Babe Ruths
record of 714, which had stood since
1935. Aaron broke several other batting
records as well. Because he hit so well he
was sometimes called Hammerin Hank.
Early Life
Henry Louis Aaron was born on February
5, 1934, in Mobile, Alabama. Even
as a young boy Hank hoped to play professional
baseball. At age 16 he began
playing shortstop with the semiprofessional
Mobile Black Bears baseball team.
Career
Aaron began his professional career in
1952. He played a few months as a
shortstop with the Indianapolis Clowns
of the Negro American League. In 1954
Although aardvarks look like anteaters, they
are actually related to elephants, manatees,
and dugongs.
Hank Aaron
6 Aardvark BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
Aaron joined the Boston Braves of the
National League, where he played
mostly as an outfielder.
In 1955 Aaron established himself as a
star. He had a .314 batting average, 27
home runs, and 106 runs batted in
(RBI). In 1957 he helped lead the
Braves to their firstWorld Series title.
The Braves moved to Atlanta, Georgia,
at the end of 1965, and Aaron moved
with them. After the 1974 baseball season,
he was traded to the Milwaukee
Brewers of the American League.
Retirement
Aaron retired after the 1976 season with
a lifetime batting average of .305. He
was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame
on January 13, 1982. At the time he held
several career batting records, including
755 home runs, 1,477 extra-base hits,
and 2,297 RBIs. His home run record
was broken in 2007 by Barry Bonds.
..More to explore
Baseball Ruth, Babe
Abacus
Long before the invention of the electronic
calculator or the computer, people
counted and did calculations with a
device called an abacus. On this instrument,
calculations are made with beads,
or counters, instead of numerals. The
beads are arranged on wires stretched
across a frame. Each wire represents the
ones, tens, hundreds, and so on.
The abacus was probably invented in
Mesopotamia by an ancient group of
people known as Sumerians. The
ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and
Chinese all used the abacus as well.
In about AD 700 the Hindus invented a
numeral system that made adding with
written numbers as easy as adding on an
abacus. The Arabs soon adopted this
system, and they introduced it into
Europe more than 1,000 years ago. As
written calculations became easier, the
abacus passed out of use in Europe. But
it continues to be used by people in
China, Japan, and the Middle East.
Abbreviation
An abbreviation is a shortened form of a
word or a phrase. People use abbreviations
to save time and space. People are
always creating new abbreviations, and
old ones are sometimes forgotten.
Some abbreviations are official, such as
the codes that the U.S. Postal Service
uses for the states. Others are more