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Pontefract

(Encyclopedia)Pontefract pŏnˈtĭfrăkt, pŭmˈfrĭt [key], town (1991 pop. 28,621), Wakefield metropolitan district, N England. It is an industrial city; furniture, iron products, and textiles are made. Pomfret c...

Hewlett, Maurice Henry

(Encyclopedia)Hewlett, Maurice Henry hyo͞oˈĭt [key], 1861–1923, English novelist, essayist, and poet. He is best known for his historical romances, such as The Forest Lovers (1898; based on Malory), The Life a...

Anti-Corn-Law League

(Encyclopedia)Anti-Corn-Law League, organization formed in 1839 to work for the repeal of the English corn laws. It was an affiliation of groups in various cities and districts with headquarters at Manchester and w...

Hahn, James Kenneth

(Encyclopedia)Hahn, James Kenneth, 1951–, American politician. Born into a Los Angeles political family, he is a Democratic lawyer who first served in city government (1981–85) as controller. As city attorney (...

Kerr, Jean Collins

(Encyclopedia)Kerr, Jean Collins, 1923–2003, American comic author and playwright, b. Scranton, Pa., wife of Walter Kerr. Kerr had a knack for finding wry humor in the worlds of marriage, suburbia, and show busin...

Bay Psalm Book

(Encyclopedia)Bay Psalm Book, common hymnal of the Massachusetts Bay colony. Written by Richard Mather, John Eliot, and Thomas Weld, it was published in 1640 at Cambridge as The Whole Book of Psalms Faithfully Tran...

Walpole, Horace, 4th earl of Orford

(Encyclopedia)Walpole, Horace or Horatio, 4th earl of Orford, 1717–97, English author; youngest son of Sir Robert Walpole. Educated at Eton and Cambridge, he toured the Continent with his friend Thomas Gray from ...

Field, Marshall

(Encyclopedia)Field, Marshall, 1834–1906, American merchant, b. Conway, Mass. In 1856, after five years' apprenticeship in a general store in Pittsfield, Mass., he went to Chicago and became a clerk for Cooley, W...

Meighen, Arthur

(Encyclopedia)Meighen, Arthur mēˈən [key], 1874–1960, Canadian political leader, b. Ontario. A lawyer, he began his career in Manitoba. Entering (1908) the Canadian House of Commons as a Liberal-Conservative, ...

Merthyr Tydfil

(Encyclopedia)Merthyr Tydfil mûrˈthər tĭdˈvĭl [key], town (1981 pop. 38,893) and county borough, 43 sq mi (111 sq km), S Wales. Located on the Taff River, the town is connected to Cardiff by canal. It has iro...