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Leonidas of Rhodes

(Encyclopedia)Leonidas of Rhodes rōdz [key], fl. 2d cent. b.c., ancient Greek athlete. He won three different foot races—the stadion, about 200 m, the diaulos, about 400m, and the hoplitodromos, in which athlete...

Philippines, The

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Philippines, The fĭlˈəpēnzˌ [key], officially Republic of the Philippines, republic (2015 est. pop. 101,716,000), 115,830 sq mi (300,000 sq km), SW Pacific, in the Malay Archipelago off th...

Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen

(Encyclopedia)Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, a fundamental document of French constitutional history, drafted by Emmanuel Sieyès, adopted by the Constituent Assembly on Aug. 26, 1789, and embodied i...

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...

Regents of the University of California v. Bakke

(Encyclopedia)Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, case decided in 1978 by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Court held in a closely divided decision that race could be one of the factors considered in choos...

David, in the Bible

(Encyclopedia)David, d. c.970 b.c., king of ancient Israel (c.1010–970 b.c.), successor of Saul. The Book of First Samuel introduces him as the youngest of eight sons who is anointed king by Samuel to replace Sau...

Pepin of Heristal

(Encyclopedia)Pepin of Heristal (Pepin II) pĕpˈĭn [key], d. 714, mayor of the palace (680–714) of the Frankish territory of Austrasia; grandson of Pepin of Landen and father of Charles Martel. After defeating...

Richard, earl of Cornwall

(Encyclopedia)Richard, earl of Cornwall, 1209–72, second son of King John of England and brother of Henry III. In 1227, following an expedition to Gascony and Poitou, Richard forced Henry to grant him the land an...

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