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Holstein, Friedrich von

(Encyclopedia)Holstein, Friedrich von frēˈdrĭkh fən hôlˈshtīn [key], 1837–1909, German diplomat. After the Congress of Berlin (1878) he became a powerful figure in shaping German foreign policy. His offici...

Alabama claims

(Encyclopedia)Alabama claims, claims made by the U.S. government against Great Britain for the damage inflicted on Northern merchant ships during the American Civil War by the Alabama and other Confederate cruisers...

Hone, Nathaniel

(Encyclopedia)Hone, Nathaniel, 1718–84, Irish miniaturist and portrait painter. Hone is noted for his smoothly painted, informal portraits of middle-class subjects. His painting The Conjurer (1775) formed part of...

British Isles

(Encyclopedia)British Isles: see Great Britain; Ireland. ...

Matsudaira, Tsuneo

(Encyclopedia)Matsudaira, Tsuneo tso͞onāˈō mätso͞odīˈrä [key], 1877–1949, Japanese diplomat. He was much involved in negotiations with the United States and Great Britain and as a delegate to the post–...

Hadrian's Wall

(Encyclopedia)Hadrian's Wall, ancient Roman wall, 73.5 mi (118.3 km) long, across the narrow part of the island of Great Britain from Wallsend on the Tyne River to Bowness at the head of Solway Firth. It was mainly...

Samoa, island chain, SW Pacific Ocean

(Encyclopedia)Samoa, chain of volcanic islands in the South Pacific, comprising the independent nation of Samoa (formerly Western Samoa), and E of long. 171° W, the islands of American Samoa, under U.S. control. T...

Kent, Edward Augustus, duke of

(Encyclopedia)Kent, Edward Augustus, duke of, 1767–1820, fourth son of George III of Great Britain and father of Queen Victoria. Most of his mature life was spent in military service at Gibraltar, in Canada, and ...

bullbaiting

(Encyclopedia)bullbaiting, 17th-century amusement, particularly popular in England, in which trained dogs (bulldogs) attacked a tethered bull. Bullbaiting, along with bullrunning (in which the bull was run down and...

Chickasaw

(Encyclopedia)Chickasaw chĭkˈəsô [key], Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Muskogean branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). They occupied N Mississippi an...