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Ireland, Republic of

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Ireland, Republic of, Gaelic, Eire, republic (2015 est. pop. 4,700,000), 27,136 sq mi (70,282 sq km). It occupies all but the northeastern corner of the island of Ireland in the British Isles. ...

Knights of the Golden Circle

(Encyclopedia)Knights of the Golden Circle, secret order of Southern sympathizers in the North during the Civil War. Its members were known as Copperheads. Dr. George W. L. Bickley, a Virginian who had moved to Ohi...

English units of measurement

(Encyclopedia)English units of measurement, principal system of weights and measures used in a few nations, the only major industrial one being the United States. It actually consists of two related systems—the U...

wildlife refuge

(Encyclopedia)wildlife refuge, haven or sanctuary for animals; an area of land or of land and water set aside and maintained, usually by government or private organization, for the preservation and protection of on...

Illinois, indigenous people of North America

(Encyclopedia)Illinois ĭlˌənoiˈ, –noizˈ [key], confederation of Native North Americans, comprising the Cahokia, the Kaskaskia, the Michigamea, the Moingwena, the Peoria, and the Tamaroa tribes. They belong t...

Weiss, Peter

(Encyclopedia)Weiss, Peter pāˈtər vīs [key], 1916–82, German-Swedish dramatist, novelist, film director, and painter. Weiss's early novels Abschied von den Eltern (1961; tr. Leavetaking, 1962) and Fluchtpunkt...

Alvord, Henry Elijah

(Encyclopedia)Alvord, Henry Elijah, 1844–1904, American agriculturist, educator, and specialist in dairy husbandry, b. Greenfield, Mass. He pioneered in developing the cooperative creamery system and served (1886...

Elephant Butte Dam

(Encyclopedia)Elephant Butte Dam, main unit of the Rio Grande project of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation on the Rio Grande, SW N.Mex.; completed 1916. The dam, with its large reservoir, is used for flood control, hy...

court system in the United States

(Encyclopedia)court system in the United States, judicial branches of the federal and state governments charged with the application and interpretation of the law. The U.S. court system is divided into two administ...

Grand Army of the Republic

(Encyclopedia)Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), organization established by Civil War veterans of the Union army and navy. Principal figures in the founding of the GAR were John A. Logan and Richard J. Oglesby. The...