(Encyclopedia) McClintock, Sir Francis Leopold, 1819–1907, British arctic explorer. As a lieutenant in the navy he was assigned to his first arctic service in 1848, when Sir James Clark Ross went in…
(Encyclopedia) Leopold I, 1790–1865, king of the Belgians (1831–65); youngest son of Francis Frederick, duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. After serving as a page at the court of Napoleon I and as a…
(Encyclopedia) bylinybylinybĭlēˈnē [key] [Rus.,=what has happened], Russian scholarly term first applied in the 1840s to a great body of narrative and heroic poems. They are called by the folk…
(Encyclopedia) boyarsboyarsbōyärzˈ [key], upper nobility in Russia from the 10th through the 17th cent. The boyars originally obtained influence and government posts through their military support of…
(Encyclopedia) ValdezValdezvăldēzˈ [key], city (1990 pop. 4,068), Valdez-Chitina-Whittier census div., S Alaska, at the head of Valdez Arm inside Prince William Sound; inc. 1901. It has tourist and…
(Encyclopedia) TravancoreTravancoretrăvənkôrˈ [key], former princely state, 7,622 sq mi (19,741 sq km), SW India, on the Arabian Sea. It is now in Kerala state. The region of Travancore has coastal…
(Encyclopedia) Regency, in British history, the period of the last nine years (1811–20) of the reign of George III, when the king's insanity had rendered him unfit to rule and the government was…
All About Dracula Facts, history, and legends by David Johnson Learn all about Dracula and vampires in our guide to the fact and fiction of the Transylvanian prince. From Prince to…
Is the final installment the best Harry Potter novel?
by Mark Zurlo Deathly Hallows Quizzes Deathly Hallows: I Quiz Deathly Hallows: II Quiz Deathly Hallows:…
