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Spencer, George John Spencer, 2d Earl

(Encyclopedia)Spencer, George John Spencer, 2d Earl, 1758–1834, British public official. He was elected to the House of Commons in 1780 but in 1783 inherited the earldom. In 1794, William Pitt appointed him first...

House Un-American Activities Committee

(Encyclopedia)House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), a committee (1938–75) of the U.S. House of Representatives, created to investigate disloyalty and subversive organizations. Its first chairman, Martin ...

Copenhagen, battle of

(Encyclopedia)Copenhagen, battle of, 1801, an important incident of the French Revolutionary Wars. In Dec., 1800, Denmark joined Russia, Sweden, and Prussia in declaring the armed neutrality of the northern powers ...

Fenton, Reuben Eaton

(Encyclopedia)Fenton, Reuben Eaton, 1819–85, U.S. politician, b. Carroll, N.Y. He was elected to the New York assembly in 1849 and to Congress in 1852. Although he was elected as a Democrat, his position on slave...

Jervis, John, earl of St. Vincent

(Encyclopedia)Jervis, John, earl of St. Vincent järˈvĭs, jûrˈ– [key], 1735–1823, British admiral. His most famous action as commander of the Mediterranean fleet was his defeat in 1797 of 27 Spanish ships o...

Ruffo, Fabrizio

(Encyclopedia)Ruffo, Fabrizio fäbrēˈtsēō ro͞ofˈfō [key], 1744–1827, Neapolitan general, cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. In the French Revolutionary Wars he led the royal Neapolitan army against the...

Sessions, Roger

(Encyclopedia)Sessions, Roger, 1896–1985, American composer and teacher, b. Brooklyn, N.Y. Sessions was a pupil of Horatio Parker at Yale and of Ernest Bloch. He taught (1917–21) at Smith, leaving to teach at t...

Hunkers

(Encyclopedia)Hunkers, conservative faction of the Democratic party in New York state in the 1840s, so named because they were supposed to “hanker” or “hunker” after office. In opposition to them stood the ...

Kalb, Johann

(Encyclopedia)Kalb, Johann Ger. yōˈhän kälp [key], 1721–80, American general in the Revolution, known generally as Baron de Kalb, b. Hüttendorf, Germany. He assumed his title for military reasons and as Jean...

Conway Cabal

(Encyclopedia)Conway Cabal, 1777, intrigue in the American Revolution to remove George Washington as commander in chief of the Continental Army. Washington had been defeated at Brandywine and Germantown, and Horati...

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