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Morrisville

(Encyclopedia)Morrisville, borough (1990 pop. 9,765), Bucks co., SE Pa., on the Delaware River opposite Trenton, N.J.; settled c.1624 by the Dutch West India Company, inc. 1804. Water pumps, clutches, coatings, and...

Constitutional Convention

(Encyclopedia)Constitutional Convention, in U.S. history, the 1787 meeting in which the Constitution of the United States was drawn up. The convention at Philadelphia drew up one of the most influential document...

Rush-Bagot Convention

(Encyclopedia)Rush-Bagot Convention rŭsh-băgˈət [key], 1817, agreement between the United States and Great Britain concerning the Canadian border. It consisted of the exchange of notes signed by Richard Rush, A...

Mahican

(Encyclopedia)Mahican məhēˈkən [key], confederacy of Native North Americans of the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). The Mahican were of the Eastern ...

Chesapeake Bay

(Encyclopedia)Chesapeake Bay, inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, c.200 mi (320 km) long, from 3 to 30 mi (4.8–48 km) wide, and 3,237 sq mi (8,384 sq km), separating the Delmarva Peninsula from mainland Maryland. and Vi...

Interior, United States Department of the

(Encyclopedia)Interior, United States Department of the, federal executive department established in 1849, delegated custodian of U.S. natural resources, and whose head, the Secretary of the Interior, has cabinet r...

Defense, United States Department of

(Encyclopedia)Defense, United States Department of, executive department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government relating directly to nationa...

Air Force, United States Department of the

(Encyclopedia)Air Force, United States Department of the, military department within the U.S. Dept. of Defense (see Defense, United States Department of). The Air Force traces its roots to the founding of the Aeron...

Harrison, Benjamin, President of the United States

(Encyclopedia)Harrison, Benjamin, 1833–1901, 23d President of the United States (1889–93), b. North Bend, Ohio, grad. Miami Univ. (Ohio), 1852; grandson of William Henry Harrison. After reading law in Cincinnat...

Georgia, University of

(Encyclopedia)Georgia, University of, at Athens, Ga.; land-grant and state-supported; coeducational; chartered 1785 as the first state-supported university in the United States, opened 1801. The university's librar...