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assignats

(Encyclopedia)assignats ăsˈĭgnăts, äsēnyäˈ [key], paper currency issued during the French Revolution. To redeem the huge public debt and to counterbalance the growing deficit, the revolutionary constituent ...

Putnam, Rufus

(Encyclopedia)Putnam, Rufus, 1738–1824, American Revolutionary general, one of the founders of the Ohio Company of Associates, b. Sutton, Mass.; cousin of Israel Putnam. In the French and Indian War he joined (17...

Groton

(Encyclopedia)Groton grŏtˈən [key]. <1> Town (2020 pop. 38,411), New London co., SE Conn., includi...

Alien and Sedition Acts

(Encyclopedia)Alien and Sedition Acts, 1798, four laws enacted by the Federalist-controlled U.S. Congress, allegedly in response to the hostile actions of the French Revolutionary government on the seas and in the ...

Heidelberg

(Encyclopedia)Heidelberg hīˈdəlbĕrkh [key], city, Baden-Württemberg, SW Germany, picturesquely situated ...

Lyons, city, France

(Encyclopedia)Lyons, Fr. Lyon both: lyôNˈ [key], city (1990 pop. 422,444), capital of Rhône dept., E central France, at the confluence of the Rhône and Saône rivers. As an economic center and a densely populat...

Messi, Lionel Andrés

(Encyclopedia)Messi, Lionel Andrés lyonālˈ ändrāsˈ māˈsē [key], 1987–, Argentinian-Spanish soccer player, b. Rosario, Argentina. He showed great talent early, and his family moved to Spain in 2000 when F...

Ssu-ma Ch'ien

(Encyclopedia)Ssu-ma Ch'ien so͝oˈmä chyĕn [key], 145?–90? b.c., Chinese historian; sometimes called the Father of Chinese History. He succeeded his father, Ssu-ma T'an, as grand historian (an office then deal...

Tabernacles, Feast of

(Encyclopedia)Tabernacles, Feast of, one of the oldest and most joyous of Jewish holidays, called in the Bible the Feast of Ingathering and today often called by its Hebrew name, Sukkoth [Heb.,=booth]. The holiday ...

personal digital assistant

(Encyclopedia)personal digital assistant (PDA), lightweight, hand-held computer designed for use as a personal organizer with communications capabilities; also called a handheld. A typical PDA has no keyboard, rely...