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dam

(Encyclopedia)dam, barrier, commonly across a watercourse, to hold back water, often forming a reservoir or lake; dams are also sometimes used to control or contain rockslides, mudflows, and the like in regions whe...

Harrison, William Henry

(Encyclopedia)Harrison, William Henry, 1773–1841, 9th President of the United States (Mar. 4–Apr. 4, 1841), b. “Berkeley,” Charles City co., Va.; son of Benjamin Harrison (1726?–1791) and grandfather of B...

Catholic Emancipation

(Encyclopedia)Catholic Emancipation, term applied to the process by which Roman Catholics in the British Isles were relieved in the late 18th and early 19th cent. of civil disabilities. They had been under oppressi...

Simmel, Georg

(Encyclopedia)Simmel, Georg gāˈôrk zĭmˈəl [key], 1858–1918, German philosopher and sociologist. At the universities of Berlin and Strasbourg he was an influential lecturer. Basing his social philosophy on a...

Wyeth, N. C.

(Encyclopedia)Wyeth, N. C. (Newell Convers Wyeth), 1882–1945, American painter and illustrator, b. Needham, Mass., studied with Howard Pyle. Among his many well-known murals are those in the Missouri state capito...

ministry

(Encyclopedia)ministry, in religion, term used to designate the clergy of Protestant churches, particularly those who repudiate the claims of apostolic succession. The ceremony by which the candidate receives the o...

Hampton, Wade, Confederate general

(Encyclopedia)Hampton, Wade, 1818–1902, Confederate general in the American Civil War, b. Charleston, S.C.; grandson of Wade Hampton (c.1752–1835). Hampton, a wealthy planter, served (1852–61) in the South Ca...

Gimbel

(Encyclopedia)Gimbel gĭmˈbəl [key], family of American merchants and philanthropists. Adam Gimbel, 1815–96, b. Bavaria, emigrated (1835) to the United States and traveled up and down the Mississippi River pedd...

Gates, Horatio

(Encyclopedia)Gates, Horatio, c.1727–1806, American Revolutionary general, b. Maldon, Essex, England. Entering the British army at an early age, he fought in America in the French and Indian War and served in the...

Lviv

(Encyclopedia)Lviv ləvēˈo͞o, ləvēfˈ [key], Rus. Lvov, Pol. Lwów, Ger. Lemberg, city (1989 pop. 791,000), capital of Lviv region, W Ukraine, at the watershed of the Western Bug and Dniester rivers and in the...