Penthesilea
A queen of the Amazons, daughter of Mars . She came to assist Priam in the last years of the Trojan war, and was slain by Achilles .
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Single-source entries: P (38)
These 10 listings are so strange that each appears in only one of the 7 encyclopedias we compared. They include such classics as Penthesilea, Pentland Firth, Pentland Hills.
Pentland Firth
a channel between the Atlantic and German Oceans, separating the mainland of Scotland from the Orkney Islands. It is 14 miles long and 64 miles broad at the narrowest. The Pentland Skerries, 5 miles N. E. of Duncansbay Head, consists of two islets and of several contiguous rocks. On the larger of the islets is a lighthouse (1794). Although navigation of the Pentland Firth is more dangerous than that of any other portion of the Scotch seas, over 5,000 vessels with cargoes pass through the Firth annually.
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Pentland Hills
in the Lowlands of Scotland, extend 16 miles S. W. from a point 3 miles S. of Edinburgh, through the counties of Midlothian, Peebles, and Lanark, have a breadth of 4 to 6 miles, and attain a maximum height in Carnethy (1,890 feet) and Scald Law (1,898). In the battle of the Pentlands or Rullion Green, 2 miles N. N. W. of Penicuik, Sir Thomas Dalyell routed 900 Westland Covenanters, Nov. 28, 1666.
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Pentonville
a populous district in London in the parish of St. James, Clerkenwell; the first buildings in which were erected in 1773 on fields belonging to Henry Penton. The name has since been extended to part of the parish of Islington, in which stands the Pentonville Prison, built in 1840-1842, and constructed on the radiating principle, so as to admit of thorough inspection. The treatment is designed to "enforce strict separation, with industrial employment and moral training."
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Pentstemon
or PENTESTEMON, a genus of plants, order Scrophulariaceæ. They are perennial herbs, rarely having woody stems, branching, paniculate, with opposite leaves; and showy red, violet, blue, or white flowers. P. pubescens, the beard tongue, is a handsome plant growing on river banks, bluffs, hills, and barrens, in the United States.
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Penumbra
a faint shadow thrown by a luminous body. It is brighter than the true shadow, though less so than the luminous body itself. It is a modification of the true shadow produced by the commingling with it of rays emitted by a portion of the luminous body. In an eclipse of the moon, the rays which have just grazed the edge of the earth are bent inward by the refraction of the atmosphere, besides having become tinged with a ruddy or copper hue. Falling on the moon, then in shadow, they often render it faintly visible, and though of a copper hue, yet bright enough to permit markings on its surface to be seen. Yet at this time the moon is so much behind the earth that it cannot be reached by any direct rays from the sun. In an eclipse the periods when the first and the last contact with the penumbra will take place are always carefully noted.
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Penza
a government of Russia. It has an area of about 15,000 square miles. The surface of the country is rolling, and slopes toward the N. W. The principal rivers are the Moksha and the Sura. The climate is severe. The chief occupation is agriculturing, and rye, oats, and wheat were produced in large quantities before the World War. There are also important manufacturing industries which employed, before the war, over 12,000 men, with an annual production valued at $10,000,000. The chief products were paper, flour, oil, and matches. Pop. about 1,875,700. The capital is the city of the same name. It is the seat of the Greek Catholic Bishop and has a monastery and convent and several schools. There were, before the war, important manufactures of paper, lumber, flour and iron. Pop. about 80,000.
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Penzance
a town of Cornwall, England; at the head of Mount's nt's Bay, 10 miles E. N. E. of Land's End. Stand- Star ing on a finely-curved shore, surrounded by rocky eminences, it is famous for its mild, equable climate, though the_annual rainfall is heavy (43 inches). Its fine esplanade commands splendid land and sea views; and its chief buildings, constructed largely of granite, include a market hall (1837) with a statue before it of Sir Humphry Davy; and public rooms (1867), Italian Renaissance in style, and comprising a guildhall, museum, library, etc. The harbor has two piers (1772-1845) half a mile long, forming a tidal basin of 21 acres; and docks have been added since 1882. Penzance is a headquarters of the mackerel and pilchard fisheries. Pop. (1917) about 15,000. Burned by Spaniards in 1595, and sacked by Fairfax in 1646, it was incorporated in 1614, and from 1663 to 1838, was one of the five "coinage towns."
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Peoria
a city and county-seat of Peoria co., Ill.; on the Illinois river, and on the Chicago, Peoria, and St. Louis, the Chicago and Alton, the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific, the Burlington Route, and other railroads; 160 miles S. W. of Chicago. It is built at the foot of Peoria Lake, an expansion of the Illinois river, and has a water frontage of about four miles. It covers an elevated plateau, extending back to a high bluff, on which many fine residences have been erected. A beautiful system of parks and driveways is laid out. The city contains 35 miles of paved streets, electric light and street railroad plants, high and graded schools, a public library, Peoria Law Library, hospitals, National and private banks, and many daily and weekly newspapers. There is an excellent street system. It also has barrel factories, foundry and machine products, planing mills, flour and grist mills, glucose factories, strawboard mills, rolling mills, lead works, stock yard, meat packing plants, wagon and buggy factories, grain elevators, etc., comprising in all over 600 establishments. The site of Peoria was first chosen by La Salle in 1680 as a trading post. It was settled in 1779, and incorporated as a city in 1845. The assessed property valuation is nearly $9,- 500,000. Pop. (1890) 41,024; (1900, with South and West Peoria annexed since 1890) 56,100; (1910) 66,950; (1920) 76,121.
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Pepin
grandson of Charlemagne, and son of Louis le Debonnaire, became King of Aquitaine in 817. He died in 838 or 839.
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