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California, University of

(Encyclopedia)California, University of, at ten campuses, main campus at Berkeley; land-grant and state supported; coeducational; chartered 1868, opened 1869 when it took over the College of California (est. 1853 a...

White, Gilbert

(Encyclopedia)White, Gilbert, 1720–93, English naturalist. He served as curate at Selborne and nearby parishes from 1751. He recorded his detailed observations of nature in letters to other naturalists, and on th...

Westminster, Statute of

(Encyclopedia)Westminster, Statute of, 1931, in British imperial history, an act of the British Parliament that gave formal recognition to the autonomy of the dominions of the British Empire and was in effect the f...

Henrietta of England

(Encyclopedia)Henrietta of England (Henrietta Anne), 1644–70, duchesse d'Orléans, called Madame; sister-in-law of King Louis XIV of France. The daughter of King Charles I and Queen Henrietta Maria of England, sh...

Sussex, kingdom of

(Encyclopedia)Sussex, kingdom of, one of the Anglo-Saxon heptarchy (seven kingdoms) in England, located S of the Weald. It was settled in the late 5th cent. (according to tradition in 477) by Saxons under Ælle, wh...

Leopold I, prince of Anhalt-Dessau

(Encyclopedia)Leopold I, 1676–1747, prince of Anhalt-Dessau (1693–1747). He served as field marshal in the Prussian army and was nicknamed “the Old Dessauer.” As chief military adviser to King Frederick Wil...

Westminster, Statutes of

(Encyclopedia)Westminster, Statutes of, in medieval English history, legislative promulgations made by Edward I in Parliament at Westminster. Westminster I (1275) practically constitutes a code of law; it covers a ...

Sinclair, Sir John

(Encyclopedia)Sinclair, Sir John, 1754–1835, Scottish agricultural economist and statistician. He compiled A Statistical Account of Scotland (21 vol., 1791–99), giving information on farming and other industrie...

Maachah, ancient city-state of Syria

(Encyclopedia)Maachah or Maacah both: māˈəkə [key], ancient city-state of Syria, S of Mt. Hermon. It was held by Arameans in biblical times. The inhabitants are Maachathi or Maachathites. It is mentioned severa...

abstract of title

(Encyclopedia)abstract of title, in law, brief history of the title to a piece of land. An account is given of recorded documents, court proceedings, wills, mortgages, taxes, previous sales, easements, and all othe...