(Encyclopedia) land-grant colleges and universities, U.S. institutions benefiting from the provisions of the Morrill Act (1862), which gave to the states federal lands for the establishment of…
(Encyclopedia) midsummer day and midsummer night, names given to the feast of the nativity of St. John the Baptist (June 24) and the preceding night (St. John's Eve, June 23). Because midsummer is…
(Encyclopedia) Lexington and Concord, battles of, opening engagements of the American Revolution, Apr. 19, 1775. After the passage (1774) of the Intolerable Acts by the British Parliament, unrest in…
(Encyclopedia) MadeiraMadeiramədāˈrə [key], river, c.2,100 mi (3,380 km) long, formed by the junction of the Beni and Mamoré rivers on the Bolivia-Brazil border. It flows north along the border for c…
(Encyclopedia) magic, in religion and superstition, the practice of manipulating and controlling the course of nature by preternatural means. Magic is based upon the belief that the universe is…
(Encyclopedia) Lunt, Alfred, 1893–1977, b. Milwaukee, and Lynn FontanneLunt, Alfred, 1893–1977, b. Milwaukee, and Lynn Fontannefŏntănˈ [key], 1887?–1983, b. Essex, England, American acting couple.…
(Encyclopedia) Mansfield, city (71,325) and district, Nottinghamshire, central England, on the western border of Sherwood Forest. The city lies in a coal district, with manufactures of hosiery, shoes…