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Pyrrho

(Encyclopedia)Pyrrho pĭrˈō [key], c.360–270 b.c., Greek philosopher, a native of Elis, regarded as the father of skepticism. After accompanying Alexander the Great to Asia, he enjoyed great respect at Elis and...

Independents

(Encyclopedia)Independents, in religion, those bodies of Christians who claim freedom from ecclesiastical and civil authority for their individual churches. They hold that each congregation should have control of i...

Picard, Jean

(Encyclopedia)Picard, Jean, 1620–82, French astronomer, noted for having made the first accurate measurement of a degree of the earth's meridian. The figures he established were of great value to Newton in his ca...

corporation tax

(Encyclopedia)corporation tax, imposts levied by federal, state, or local governments against corporations, their income, or their peculiar attributes, such as charters, capitalization, dividends, and franchises. I...

Chauncy, Charles

(Encyclopedia)Chauncy, Charles chônˈsē, chänˈ– [key], 1705–87, American Congregational clergyman, b. Boston. He was ordained as a minister of the First Church, Boston, in 1727 and remained in that pulpit f...

Gettysburg Address

(Encyclopedia)Gettysburg Address, speech delivered by Abraham Lincoln on Nov. 19, 1863, at the dedication of the national cemetery on the Civil War battlefield of Gettysburg, Pa. It is one of the most famous and mo...

Hellenistic civilization

(Encyclopedia)Hellenistic civilization. The conquests of Alexander the Great spread Hellenism immediately over the Middle East and far into Asia. After his death in 323 b.c., the influence of Greek civilization con...

Nez Percé

(Encyclopedia)Nez Percé nĕz pûrs, nā pĕrsāˈ [key] [Fr.,=pierced nose], Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Sahaptin-Chinook branch of the Penutian linguistic stock (see Native American langu...

Gran Chaco

(Encyclopedia)Gran Chaco grän chäˈkō [key] or Chaco, c.250,000 sq mi (647,500 sq km), extensive lowland plain, central South America. It is sparsely populated and is divided among Paraguay, Bolivia, and Argenti...

Zhejiang

(Encyclopedia)Zhejiang chĕˈkyăngˈ [key], province (2010 pop. 54,426,891), c.40,000 sq mi (103,600 sq km), SE China, on the East China Sea. The capital is Hangzhou. The province includes many islands, notably th...