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Emancipation, Edict of

(Encyclopedia)Emancipation, Edict of, 1861, the mechanism by which Czar Alexander II freed all Russian serfs (one third of the total population). All personal serfdom was abolished, and the peasants were to receive...

Aosta, Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy, duke of

(Encyclopedia)Aosta, Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy, duke of äôˈstə, –stä [key], 1869–1931, Italian general; son of King Amadeus of Spain and cousin of Victor Emmanuel III of Italy. In World War I he held the...

Monmouth, battle of

(Encyclopedia)Monmouth, battle of, in the American Revolution, fought June 28, 1778, near the village of Monmouth Courthouse (now Freehold, N.J.). Gen. George Washington chose this location to attack the British tr...

Dion of Syracuse

(Encyclopedia)Dion of Syracuse dīˈən [key], 409?–354? b.c., Sicilian Greek political leader, brother-in-law of Dionysius the Elder, tyrant of Syracuse. He became interested in philosophy through his acquaintan...

Fonseca, Gulf of

(Encyclopedia)Fonseca, Gulf of fōnsāˈkä [key], inlet of the Pacific Ocean, c.700 sq mi (1,810 sq km), c.50 mi (80 km) long and c.30 mi (50 km) wide, W Central America. In a volcanic area, it is a natural shallo...

Miami, University of

(Encyclopedia)Miami, University of, main campus at Coral Gables, Fla.; partly supported by city, county, and state; coeducational; chartered 1925, opened 1926. Notable programs include a school of marine and atmosp...

Colorado, University of

(Encyclopedia)Colorado, University of, main campus at Boulder; state supported; coeducational; chartered 1861, opened 1877. There are campuses at Colorado Springs and Denver; the main medical campus is at Aurora. T...

Didymus of Alexandria

(Encyclopedia)Didymus of Alexandria, d. c.396, Greek grammarian and theologian, also called Didymus the Blind. His treatise On the Holy Ghost was translated by St. Jerome, who studied briefly with him. Although Did...

Union, Act of

(Encyclopedia)Union, Act of. For the union of England and Scotland (1707), see Great Britain; for the union of Ireland (1800) with Great Britain, see Ireland. ...

rose of Sharon

(Encyclopedia)rose of Sharon, common name for several plants, especially Hibiscus syriacus, of the family Malvaceae (mallow family), and for St.-John's-wort, i.e., any species of the genus Hypericum of the family H...