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Poston, Charles Debrill

(Encyclopedia)Poston, Charles Debrill pōsˈtən [key], 1825–1902, American explorer and author, b. Hardin co., Ky. After practicing law in Tennessee, he moved to California in 1850 and from there led a party to ...

Nur Jahan

(Encyclopedia)Nur Jahan, 1577–1645, empress (1611–27) of Mughal India. Born Mehrunnisa in Kandahar (now in Afghanistan), she was the daughter of Persian nobility and had been widowed before she became the favor...

Bank of England

(Encyclopedia)Bank of England, central bank and note-issuing institution of Great Britain. Popularly known as the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street, its main office stands on the street of that name in London. The ba...

conservation of natural resources

(Encyclopedia)conservation of natural resources, the wise use of the earth's resources by humanity. The term conservation came into use in the late 19th cent. and referred to the management, mainly for economic rea...

Ferdinand VI, king of Spain

(Encyclopedia)Ferdinand VI, b. 1712 or 1713, d. 1759, king of Spain (1746–59), son of Philip V by his first queen, Marie Louise of Savoy. When Ferdinand succeeded his father, his stepmother, Elizabeth Farnese, lo...

Geological Survey, United States

(Encyclopedia)Geological Survey, United States, bureau organized in 1879 under the Dept. of the Interior to unify and centralize the work already undertaken by separate surveys under Clarence King, F. V. Hayden, Ge...

New Jerusalem, Church of the

(Encyclopedia)New Jerusalem, Church of the, or New Church, religious body instituted by the followers of Emanuel Swedenborg, who are generally called Swedenborgians. Knowledge of Swedenborg's teachings was spread i...

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...

Danby, Thomas Osborne, earl of

(Encyclopedia)Danby, Thomas Osborne, earl of, 1631–1712, English statesman. Under the patronage of the 2d duke of Buckingham, he was appointed treasurer of the navy (1668), a privy councilor (1672), and lord trea...

Maria Christina, 1858–1929, queen of Spain

(Encyclopedia)Maria Christina märēˈä krēstēˈnä [key], 1858–1929, queen of Spain, consort of Alfonso XII. An Austrian archduchess, she was married to Alfonso in 1879. After his death, she was regent (1886�...