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Bronfman, Edgar Miles, Sr.

(Encyclopedia)Bronfman, Edgar Miles, Sr. 1929–2013, Canadian-American business executive and philanthropist, b. Montreal, grad. McGill Univ. (1951). He was the eldest son of Samuel Bronfman, 1889–1971, an East ...

Bland, Richard Parks

(Encyclopedia)Bland, Richard Parks, 1835–99, American statesman, b. near Hartford, Ky. He taught in rural schools in Kentucky and Missouri before he went to the gold fields of California in 1855. He was a prospec...

Pribilof Islands

(Encyclopedia)Pribilof Islands prĭbˈĭlŏfˌ [key], group of four volcanic islands, off SW Alaska in the Bering Sea, c.230 mi (370 km) N of the Aleutian Islands; explored and named in 1786 by Gerasim Pribilof, a ...

Everglades

(Encyclopedia)Everglades, marshy, low-lying subtropical savanna area, c.4,000 sq mi (10,000 sq km), S Fla., extending from Lake Okeechobee S to Florida Bay. Characterized by water, sawgrass, hammocks (islandlike ma...

McCormick, Cyrus Hall

(Encyclopedia)McCormick, Cyrus Hall, 1809–84, inventor of the reaper, b. Rockbridge co., Va. His father, Robert McCormick (1780–1846), had worked intermittently for over 20 years at his blacksmith shop on a rea...

Vane, Sir Henry, 1589–1655, English courtier

(Encyclopedia)Vane, Sir Henry, 1589–1655, English courtier; father of the Puritan leader Sir Henry Vane, the younger. He gained the favor of James I, was knighted in 1611, and acquired wealth by the purchase of p...

Sitka

(Encyclopedia)Sitka sĭtˈkə [key], city (1990 pop. 8,588), Sitka census div., SE Alaska, in the Alexander Archipelago, on Baranof Island; inc. 1971. Fishing, its first industry, remains important; salmon, halibut...

Preemption Act

(Encyclopedia)Preemption Act, statute passed (1841) by the U.S. Congress in response to the demands of the Western states that squatters be allowed to preempt lands. Pioneers often settled on public lands before th...

packaging

(Encyclopedia)packaging, containment and packing prior to sale with the primary purpose of facilitating the purchase and use of a product. Before 1800 packaging was restricted almost entirely to containment for shi...

Atomic Energy Agency, International

(Encyclopedia)Atomic Energy Agency, International (IAEA), independent intergovernmental organization established in 1957 under the aegis of the United Nations to promote safe, secure, and peaceful uses of atomic e...