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Cotton, Sir Robert Bruce

(Encyclopedia)Cotton, Sir Robert Bruce, 1571–1631, English antiquarian. The Cottonian collection of books, manuscripts, coins, and antiquities became a part of the British Museum when it was founded in 1753. Cott...

North American Nebula

(Encyclopedia)North American Nebula, bright diffuse nebula in the northern constellation Cygnus about 1000 light-years away; cataloged as NGC 7000. It has a configuration resembling parts of Canada and the United S...

American Landrace swine

(Encyclopedia)American Landrace swine, relatively new breed of swine developed from Danish Landrace hogs imported in 1934 by the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture. They are totally white. Noted for their smoothness, length...

National Museum of African American History and Culture

(Encyclopedia)National Museum of African American History and Culture, Washington, D.C., a division of the Smithsonian Institution. Devoted to the collection, presentation, and preservation of the culture of Africa...

French and Indian Wars

(Encyclopedia)French and Indian Wars, 1689–1763, the name given by American historians to the North American colonial wars between Great Britain and France in the late 17th and the 18th cent. They were really cam...

Borden, Sir Robert Laird

(Encyclopedia)Borden, Sir Robert Laird, 1854–1937, Canadian political leader, prime minister during World War I, b. Grand-Pré, N.S. Called to the bar in 1878, he won a reputation as a constitutional lawyer. He w...

Great Slave Lake

(Encyclopedia)Great Slave Lake, second largest lake of Canada, c.10,980 sq mi (28,400 sq km), Northwest Territories, named for the Slave (Dogrib), a tribe of Native Americans. It is c.300 mi (480 km) long and from ...

Armstrong, John, 1758–1843, American army officer

(Encyclopedia)Armstrong, John, 1758–1843, American army officer, U.S. Secretary of War (1813–14), b. Carlisle, Pa.; son of John Armstrong, “hero of Kittanning.” In the American Revolution he was on the staf...

Natives, Middle American

(Encyclopedia)Natives, Middle American or Mesoamerican, aboriginal peoples living in the area between present-day United States and South America. Although most of Mexico is geographically considered part of North ...

Otis, Harrison Gray, 1837–1917, American soldier and journalist

(Encyclopedia)Otis, Harrison Gray, 1837–1917, American soldier and journalist, b. Marietta, Ohio. He was (1860) a member of the Republican national convention that nominated Abraham Lincoln for President, served ...