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abdication

(Encyclopedia)abdication, in a political sense, renunciation of high public office, usually by a monarch. Some abdications have been purely voluntary and resulted in no loss of prestige. For instance, Holy Roman Em...

murder

(Encyclopedia)murder, criminal homicide, usually distinguished from manslaughter by the element of malice aforethought. The most direct case of malicious intent occurs when the killer is known to have adopted the d...

Edward II

(Encyclopedia)Edward II, 1284–1327, king of England (1307–27), son of Edward I and Eleanor of Castile, called Edward of Carnarvon for his birthplace in Wales. When trouble threatened with the new king of Fran...

Murder, Inc.

(Encyclopedia)Murder, Inc., name given to the band of professional killers who operated (1930–40) throughout the United States as the enforcement arm of the Syndicate, composed of the national heads of organized ...

population I and II

(Encyclopedia)population I and II, in astronomy: see stellar populations. ...

Isabella

(Encyclopedia)Isabella, 1296–1358, queen consort of Edward II of England, daughter of Philip IV of France. She married Edward in 1308. Neglected and mistreated by her husband, Isabella nourished hatred for the ro...

Edward VIII

(Encyclopedia)Edward VIII, 1894–1972, king of Great Britain and Ireland (1936), known in later years as the duke of Windsor; eldest son of George V. He attended the naval colleges at Osborne and Dartmouth and Mag...

Pembroke, Aymer de Valence, earl of

(Encyclopedia)Pembroke, Aymer de Valence, earl of pĕmˈbro͝ok [key], d. 1324, English nobleman; nephew of Aymer of Valence, bishop of Winchester. He succeeded his father, William, half-brother of Henry III, as ea...

Windsor, Wallis Warfield, duchess of

(Encyclopedia)Windsor, Wallis Warfield, duchess of wĭnˈzər [key],1896–1986, American-born wife of Edward, duke of Windsor, who, as Edward VIII, abdicated the British throne in order to marry her. In 1916 she ...

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