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New England Primer

(Encyclopedia)New England Primer, famous American school book, first published before 1690. Its compiler was Benjamin Harris, an English printer who emigrated to Boston. This was the book from which most of the chi...

North, George

(Encyclopedia)North, George, fl. 1561–81, English gentleman, man of letters, and diplomat. A minor figure in the court of Queen Elizabeth I, he served as an ambassador to Sweden in 1564 and translated or adapted ...

Tate, Nahum

(Encyclopedia)Tate, Nahum nāˈhəm [key], 1652–1715, English poet and dramatist, b. Dublin. He wrote several popular adaptations of Shakespeare, the most famous being his King Lear (1681), in which he omitted th...

Urgench , ancient city, present-day Turkmenistan

(Encyclopedia)Urgench o͝orgyĕnchˈ [key], ancient city of central Asia, on the site of present-day Kunya-Urgench (Köhne Ürgenç), in Turkmenistan. It lies c.85 mi (140 km) NW of modern Urganch, Uzbekistan. A ma...

Dienbienphu

(Encyclopedia)Dienbienphu or Dien Bien Phu dyĕnˈbyĕnˈfo͞oˈ [key], former French military base, N Vietnam, near the Laos border. It was the scene in 1954 of the last great battle between the French and the Vie...

Passover

(Encyclopedia)Passover, in Judaism, one of the most important and elaborate of religious festivals. Its celebration begins on the evening of the 14th of Nisan (first month of the religious calendar, corresponding t...

Riga, Gulf of

(Encyclopedia)Riga, Gulf of, eastern arm of the Baltic Sea, bordering on Estonia and on Latvia. At its mouth it is nearly closed off by the Estonian island of Saaremaa. The gulf, which is frozen from December to Ap...

Tellus

(Encyclopedia)Tellus tĕlˈəs [key], in Roman religion, earth goddess; also called Terra Mater. As a goddess of fertility, she was worshiped at festivals held in January (in conjunction with Ceres) and in April. T...

William, prince of Wales

(Encyclopedia)William, (William Arthur Philip Louis), 1982–, Prince of Wales of Great Britian, eldest son of King Charles III and Diana ...