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Thanksgiving Day

(Encyclopedia)Thanksgiving Day, national holiday in the United States commemorating the Pilgrims' celebration of the harvest reaped by the Plymouth Colony in 1621, after a winter of great starvation and privation. ...

Baha'i

(Encyclopedia)Baha'i bähäˈē, –hīˈ, bə– [key], religion founded by Baha Ullah (born Mirza Huseyn Ali Nuri) and promulgated by his eldest son, Abdul Baha (1844–1921). It is a doctrinal outgrowth of Babis...

MacDonald, Ramsay

(Encyclopedia)MacDonald, Ramsay (James Ramsay McDonald), 1866–1937, British statesman, b. Scotland. The illegitimate son of a servant, he went as a young man to London, where he joined the Social Democratic Feder...

Bell, Alexander Graham

(Encyclopedia)Bell, Alexander Graham, 1847–1922, American scientist, inventor of the telephone, b. Edinburgh, Scotland, educated at the Univ. of Edinburgh and University College, London; son of Alexander Melville...

Curzon of Kedleston, George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess

(Encyclopedia)Curzon of Kedleston, George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess kûrˈzən, kĕdˈəlstən [key], 1859–1925, British statesman. A member of the minor aristocracy, he attended Eton and Oxford. From his un...

executive order

(Encyclopedia)executive order, in the United States, official document initiated and signed by the president containing directives concerning how the executive branch shall carry out its responsibilities under the ...

angel

(Encyclopedia)angel ānˈjəl [key], [Gr.,=messenger], bodiless, immortal spirit, limited in knowledge and power, accepted in the traditional belief of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam and other religions. Angels a...

ode

(Encyclopedia)ode, elaborate and stately lyric poem of some length. The ode dates back to the Greek choral songs that were sung and danced at public events and celebrations. The Greek odes of Pindar, which were mod...

Pindar

(Encyclopedia)Pindar pĭnˈdər [key], 518?–c.438 b.c., Greek poet, generally regarded as the greatest Greek lyric poet. A Boeotian of noble birth, he lived principally at Thebes. He traveled widely, staying for ...

Apache

(Encyclopedia)Apache əpăchˈē [key], Native North Americans of the Southwest composed of six culturally related groups. They speak a language that has various dialects and belongs to the Athabascan branch of the...