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Zephaniah, book of the Bible

(Encyclopedia)Zephaniah zĕfˌənīˈə [key], prophetic book of the Bible. The prophet, who lived in the reign (c.640–609 b.c.) of King Josiah of Judah, traces his genealogy to King Hezekiah. Zephaniah denounces...

Antarctic Peninsula

(Encyclopedia)Antarctic Peninsula, glaciated mountain region of W Antarctica, extending c.1,200 mi (1,930 km) N toward South America. In the south, volcanic peaks rise to c.11,000 ft (3,350 m); other volcanic cones...

Embargo Act of 1807

(Encyclopedia)Embargo Act of 1807, passed Dec. 22, 1807, by the U.S. Congress in answer to the British orders in council restricting neutral shipping and to Napoleon's restrictive Continental System. The U.S. merch...

Tyrone, Hugh O'Neill, 2d earl of

(Encyclopedia)Tyrone, Hugh O'Neill, 2d earl of, 1540?–1616, Irish chieftain. He was the son of Matthew O'Neill, the illegitimate son of the 1st earl. Hugh succeeded his murdered older brother, Brian, as Baron Dun...

Somerset, Edward Seymour, duke of

(Encyclopedia)Somerset, Edward Seymour, duke of, 1506?–1552, protector of England. He served on various military and diplomatic missions for Henry VIII and, after the marriage of his sister Jane to the king, was ...

Liberal party, former British political party

(Encyclopedia)Liberal party, former British political party, the dominant political party in Great Britain for much of the period from the mid-1800s to World War I. By 1914 the Liberal government had passed subst...

Newstead Abbey

(Encyclopedia)Newstead Abbey nyo͞oˈstĭd, –stĕd [key], Nottinghamshire, central England, on the border of Sherwood Forest, between Nottingham and Mansfield. It was founded c.1170 by Henry II in atonement for t...

Northumberland, Algernon Percy, 10th earl of

(Encyclopedia)Northumberland, Algernon Percy, 10th earl of nôrthŭmˈbərlənd [key], 1602–68, English nobleman. He was created Baron Percy in 1626 and succeeded his father as earl in 1632. Charles I in 1638 mad...

Lovelace, Ada

(Encyclopedia)Lovelace, Ada (Augusta Ada King-Noel, Countess of Lovelace), 1815–1852, English mathematician, b. London as Augusta Ada Byron. The daughter of the poet Lord Byron and Anne Isabella Milbanke, she was...

Millau

(Encyclopedia)Millau mēyōˈ [key], town (1990 pop. 22,458), Aveyron dept., S France, on the Tarn River. The center of the French glove industry, the town also has tanning and dyeing industries. Near Millau the Ta...