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Salisbury, Robert Cecil, 1st earl of

(Encyclopedia)Salisbury, Robert Cecil, 1st earl of, 1563–1612, English statesman; son of William Cecil, Baron Burghley. He entered Parliament and came gradually to rank second only to his father as adviser to Que...

European Commission

(Encyclopedia)European Commission (EC), institution of the European Union (EU) invested with executive powers; it also is the main EU institution that initiates legislation. Located in Brussels, Belgium, it was fou...

Stamp Act

(Encyclopedia)Stamp Act, 1765, revenue law passed by the British Parliament during the ministry of George Grenville. The first direct tax to be levied on the American colonies, it required that all newspapers, pamp...

Berlusconi, Silvio

(Encyclopedia)Berlusconi, Silvio bĕrˌləskōˈnē [key], 1936–2023, Italian business executive and politician, ...

legislature

(Encyclopedia)legislature, representative assembly empowered to enact statute law. Generally the representatives who compose a legislature are constitutionally elected by a broad spectrum of the population. While...

Walpole, Robert, 1st earl of Orford

(Encyclopedia)Walpole, Robert, 1st earl of Orford, 1676–1745, English statesman. Walpole is usually described as the first prime minister of Great Britain, but he was not a prime minister in the modern sense. A...

Lewis, Sir George Cornewall

(Encyclopedia)Lewis, Sir George Cornewall, 1806–63, English statesman and man of letters. Entering Parliament as a Liberal in 1847, he served as chancellor of exchequer (1855–58), home secretary (1859–61), an...

Mackintosh, Sir James

(Encyclopedia)Mackintosh, Sir James, 1765–1832, British writer and public servant, b. Scotland. He was trained as a physician, but after settling (1788) in London he became a writer and lawyer. His Vindiciae Gall...

Argyll, Archibald Campbell, 3d duke of

(Encyclopedia)Argyll, Archibald Campbell, 3d duke of, 1682–1761, Scottish nobleman; brother of the 2d duke. As lord high treasurer of Scotland (1705) and a commissioner for the union (1706), he helped negotiate t...

Rattazzi, Urbano

(Encyclopedia)Rattazzi, Urbano o͞orbäˈnō rät-tätˈtsē [key], 1808–73, Italian premier (1862, 1867). A leader of the left in the Sardinian parliament, he was briefly (1849) minister of the interior and late...