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Davis, John William

(Encyclopedia)Davis, John William, 1873–1955, American lawyer and public official, b. Clarksburg, W.Va. Admitted (1895) to the bar, he taught (1896–97) at Washington and Lee Univ. and later practiced (1897–19...

Des Barres, Joseph Frederick Wallet

(Encyclopedia)Des Barres or Desbarres, Joseph Frederick Wallet dābärˈ [key], 1721?–1824, British army officer, surveyor, and artist. He was born of French parents (probably in Switzerland), was educated at Bas...

Pretorius, Martinus Wessel

(Encyclopedia)Pretorius, Martinus Wessel prātôrˈēəs [key], 1818?–1901, Boer (Afrikaner) statesman; son of Andries Pretorius. In 1857 he was elected the first president of the South African Republic (the Tra...

Harris, Thomas Lake

(Encyclopedia)Harris, Thomas Lake, 1823–1906, American Christian mystic. Born in England, he was brought to the United States as a child. In 1845 he was called to the pulpit of the Fourth Universalist Society, in...

Kanton

(Encyclopedia)Kanton kăntŏnˈ, kănˈtŏn [key], coral atoll, 3.5 sq mi (9 sq km), central Pacific, largest of the Phoenix Islands, which comprise part of Kiribati, c.2,000 mi (3,220 km) SE of Honolulu, Hawaii. A...

Kiritimati

(Encyclopedia)Kiritimati kərĭsˈməs [key], largest atoll in the Pacific (1990 pop. 2,537), 222 sq mi (575 sq km), in the Line Islands, one of the island groups that compose the Republic of Kiribati. It was previ...

Windsor, British royal house

(Encyclopedia)Windsor wĭnˈzər [key], name of the royal house of Great Britain. The name Wettin, family name of Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, consort of Queen Victoria, as well as Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, the name of th...

Yonai, Mitsumasa

(Encyclopedia)Yonai, Mitsumasa, 1880–1948, Japanese naval officer and political leader, b. Morioka. He attended the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy (grad. 1901) and the Naval War College, served in the Russo-Japa...

Berlin, Conference of

(Encyclopedia)Berlin, Conference of, 1884–85, international meeting aimed at settling the problems connected with European colonies in Africa. At the invitation of the German chancellor Otto von Bismarck, represe...

Boulogne-sur-Mer

(Encyclopedia)Boulogne-sur-Mer bo͞olôˈnyə-sür-mĕrˈ [key], city, Pas-de-Calais dept., N France, in Picardy, on the English ...