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Wight, Isle of

(Encyclopedia)Wight, Isle of wīt [key], island and county (1991 pop. 126,600), 147 sq mi (381 sq km), S England, across the Solent and Spithead channels from Hampshire. The administrative center is Newport. The is...

Georgia, Strait of

(Encyclopedia)Georgia, Strait of, channel, c.150 mi (240 km) long, between the mainland of British Columbia and Vancouver Island, Canada, between Puget Sound and Queen Charlotte Sound. It forms part of the inland s...

Oldham, John, colonist in New England

(Encyclopedia)Oldham, John ōlˈdəm [key], c.1600–1636, colonist in New England, b. England. A trader, he emigrated to Plymouth in 1623 but was banished (1624) because of his opposition to the strict government....

Cheshire, former county, England

(Encyclopedia)Cheshire chĕshˈər [key], county, W central England, on the N border with Wales. The county seat was Chester. Other principal population centers included Northwich, Crewe, and Macclesfield. Cheshire...

Eric XIV

(Encyclopedia)Eric XIV, 1533–77, king of Sweden (1560–68), son and successor of Gustavus I. To strengthen the power of the crown, he limited (1561) the privileges of the royal dukes. He forbade the marriage of ...

Baldwin I, Latin king of Jerusalem

(Encyclopedia)Baldwin I (Baldwin of Boulogne), 1058?–1118, Latin king of Jerusalem (1100–1118), brother and successor of Godfrey of Bouillon, whom he accompanied on the First Crusade (see Crusades). Separating ...

Queensberry, James Douglas, 2d duke of

(Encyclopedia)Queensberry, James Douglas, 2d duke of, 1662–1711, Scottish statesman. One of the early supporters of William III in Scotland, he held offices under him and Queen Anne, rising to become commissioner...

Charles I, duke of Lower Lorraine

(Encyclopedia)Charles I, 953–992?, duke of Lower Lorraine (977–91); younger son of King Louis IV of France. He claimed the French throne when his nephew, Louis V of France, died (987) without issue, but he was ...

O'Neill, Shane

(Encyclopedia)O'Neill, Shane, 1530?–1567, Irish chieftain. The eldest son of Con O'Neill, 1st earl of Tyrone, he carried on a bitter feud with his father after Con accepted Henry VIII's nomination of Con's illegi...

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