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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...

Basil II

(Encyclopedia)Basil II, c.958–1025, Byzantine emperor (976–1025), surnamed Bulgaroktonos [Bulgar slayer]. With his brother, Constantine VIII, he nominally succeeded his father, Romanus II, in 963, but had no sh...

Mikkeli

(Encyclopedia)Mikkeli mĭkˈkĕlē [key], Swed. Sankt Michel, city (1996 pop. 32,797), capital of Eastern Finland prov., S central Finland. It is in the Saimaa lake region and is an important lake port, commercial ...

Montauk Point

(Encyclopedia)Montauk Point mŏnˈtôkˌ [key], eastern extremity of the south peninsula of Long Island, SE N.Y. Approximately 115 mi (190 km) E of Manhattan, it is the easternmost point of the state. It has been t...

Levant

(Encyclopedia)Levant ləvăntˈ [key] [Ital.,=east], collective name for the countries of the eastern shore of the Mediterranean from Egypt to, and including, Turkey. The divisions of the French mandate over Syria ...

Burnaby

(Encyclopedia)Burnaby bûrˈnəbē [key], city, eastern suburb of Vancouver, SW B.C., Canada. A transportat...

West Springfield

(Encyclopedia)West Springfield, town (1990 pop. 27,537), Hampden co., SW Mass., on the Connecticut River opposite Springfield; settled 1654, set off from Springfield and inc. 1774. Light manufactures include paper,...

Baracoa

(Encyclopedia)Baracoa bäräkōˈä [key], city (1996 est. pop. 50,000), Guantánamo prov., SE Cuba, a port near the eastern extremity of the island. It is a processing and export center for a region producing bana...

Qeshm

(Encyclopedia)Qeshm or Qishm both: kēˈshəm [key], largest island of Iran, c.500 sq mi (1,300 sq km), S Iran, in the Strait of Hormuz. It is mostly rocky and has little vegetation; dates and fruits are raised. Qe...

Dukes, Leopold

(Encyclopedia)Dukes, Leopold, 1810–91, Hungarian Hebrew scholar. He made a collection of rabbinical proverbs and wrote on the history of Jewish literature, notably of Hebrew poetry in the Middle Ages. He also tra...