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Gardiner, Sir Christopher

(Encyclopedia)Gardiner, Sir Christopher, fl. 1630–32, figure in the early history of the Massachusetts Bay colony. When the Puritans arrived in Massachusetts Bay in 1630, they found that Gardiner had preceded the...

Belknap, Jeremy

(Encyclopedia)Belknap, Jeremy bĕlˈnăp [key], 1744–98, American historian, b. Boston. A Congregational minister, he wrote history out of antiquarian interest, but showed great diligence and skill in research an...

Thomas, Isaiah

(Encyclopedia)Thomas, Isaiah, 1749–1831, American patriot and printer, from Worcester, Mass. Thomas printed outspoken Whig editorials in the Massachusetts Spy, a newspaper that he helped to found. He fought at th...

Civil War, in U.S. history

(Encyclopedia)Civil War, in U.S. history, conflict (1861–65) between the Northern states (the Union) and the Southern states that seceded from the Union and formed the Confederacy. It is generally known in the So...

Field Museum of Natural History

(Encyclopedia)Field Museum of Natural History, in Chicago, Ill. Founded in 1893 through the gifts of Marshall Field and others, it was first known as the Columbian Museum of Chicago and in 1905 was renamed in honor...

Family Compact, in Canadian history

(Encyclopedia)Family Compact, name popularly applied to a small, powerful group of men who dominated the government of Upper Canada (Ontario) from the closing years of the 18th cent. to the beginnings of responsibl...

February Revolution, in French history

(Encyclopedia)February Revolution, 1848, French revolution that overthrew the monarchy of Louis Philippe and established the Second Republic. General dissatisfaction resulted partly from the king's increasingly rea...

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