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Stephen, Sir James

(Encyclopedia)Stephen, Sir James, 1789–1859, British colonial administrator; father of Leslie and James Fitzjames Stephen. He served (1825–35) as permanent counsel to the colonial office and Board of Trade and ...

gun control

(Encyclopedia)gun control, government limitation of the purchase and ownership of firearms. The availability of guns is controlled by nations and localities throughout the world. In the United States the “right o...

McConnell, Mitch

(Encyclopedia)McConnell, Mitch (Addison Mitchell McConnell, Jr.), 1942–, U.S. politician, b. Tuscumbia, Ky., grad. Univ. of Louisville (B.A. 1964), Univ. of Kentucky Law School (J.D., 1967). A conservative Republ...

Indian Reorganization Act

(Encyclopedia)Indian Reorganization Act, legislation passed in 1934 in the United States in an attempt to secure new rights for Native Americans on reservations. Its main provisions were to restore to Native Americ...

Allison, William Boyd

(Encyclopedia)Allison, William Boyd, 1829–1908, U.S. Senator from Iowa (1873–1908), b. Ashland co., Ohio. He served (1863–71) in the House of Representatives and entered the Senate in 1873. One of the most in...

Pecos, river, United States

(Encyclopedia)Pecos, river, 926 mi (1,480 km) long, rising in N N.Mex. near the Truchas peaks and flowing SE across E N.Mex. and W Tex. to the Rio Grande; drains c.38,300 sq mi (99,200 sq km). In New Mexico, dams a...

North Platte, city, United States

(Encyclopedia)North Platte plăt [key], city (1990 pop. 22,605), seat of Lincoln co., W central Nebr., at the confluence of the North Platte and South Platte rivers; inc. 1873. It is a processing and shipping point...

Wilson, William Bauchop

(Encyclopedia)Wilson, William Bauchop, 1862–1934, American labor leader, U.S. Secretary of Labor (1913–21), b. Blantyre, Scotland. Coming as a child to the United States in 1870, he worked in Pennsylvania coal ...

Hambletonian

(Encyclopedia)Hambletonian hămbəltōˈnēən [key], 1849–76, American trotting horse, foaled at Chester, N.Y. Originally owned by Jonas Seely, Hambletonian was bought for little money by Bill Rysdyk and won few...

coot

(Encyclopedia)coot, common name for a migratory marsh bird related to rails and gallinules and found in North America and Europe. The American coot (Fulica americana), or mud hen, is slate gray with a white bill, b...