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Velociraptor

(Encyclopedia)Velociraptor vəlŏsˈĭrăpˌtər [key] [Gr.,=swift robber], swift bipedal carnivorous dinosaur of the late Cretaceous period. It was relatively small, being approximately 6 ft (1.8 m) long. It was s...

St. John, Henry, Viscount Bolingbroke

(Encyclopedia)St. John, Henry, Viscount Bolingbroke sĭn jŭn, bŏlˈĭngbro͝ok [key], 1678–1751, English statesman. He retired from politics in 1735 and spent most his remaining years on his estates in France...

Brainerd, David

(Encyclopedia)Brainerd, David brāˈnərd [key], 1718–47, missionary to the Native Americans, b. Haddam, Conn. Licensed to preach in 1742, he spent his brief years among the Native Americans, first in New York an...

Morecambe Bay

(Encyclopedia)Morecambe Bay, shallow inlet of the Irish Sea, 16 mi (26 km) long and 10 mi (16.1 km) wide, separating Furness peninsula from the mainland, NW England. It receives the Kent and Lune rivers. Shrimp are...

Parnell, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Parnell, Thomas, 1679–1718, Irish poet, b. Dublin. Educated at Trinity College, Dublin, he was archdeacon of Clogher from 1706. He was a friend of Pope and Swift and a member of the Scriblerus Club....

Mattathias

(Encyclopedia)Mattathias mătˌəthīˈəs [key] [Gr. variant of Mattithiah]. 1, 2 Two in Luke's genealogy. 3 Father of the Maccabees. 4 Captain under Jonathan, the Maccabee. 5 Son of Simon, the Maccabee, murdered ...

Wotton, William

(Encyclopedia)Wotton, William, 1666–1727, English scholar. He is best known for his Reflections upon Ancient and Modern Learning (1694), a defense of contemporary learning written in response to an essay by Sir W...

Hawley, Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Hawley, Joseph, 1723–88, political leader in the American Revolution, b. Northampton, Mass. He was a leader of the opposition to the revivalist preaching of Jonathan Edwards and helped bring about E...

Dublin, city, Republic of Ireland

(Encyclopedia)Dublin, Irish Baile Átha Cliath, county borough (2021 est. pop. 1,430,000), Leinster, capital of the Republic of Ireland, on Dublin Bay at the mout...

Astell, Mary

(Encyclopedia)Astell, Mary ăsˈtəl [key], 1666–1731, English author and feminist. Her Serious Proposal to the Ladies (2 parts, 1694–97) offered a scheme for a women's college, an idea far in advance of the ti...

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