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Mason, John, 1586–1635, founder of New Hampshire

(Encyclopedia)Mason, John, 1586–1635, founder of New Hampshire, b. England. After serving (1615–21) as governor of Newfoundland, he and Sir Ferdinando Gorges received (1622) a patent from the Council for New En...

Summers, Lawrence Henry

(Encyclopedia)Summers, Lawrence Henry, 1954–, U.S. economist, government official, and educator, b. New Haven, Conn. Educated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard, he taught at MIT and i...

Osterman, Andrei Ivanovich, Count

(Encyclopedia)Osterman, Andrei Ivanovich, Count əndrāˈ ēväˈnəvĭch əstyĭrmänˈ [key], 1686–1747, Russian statesman, b. Germany. His original name was Heinrich Johann Friedrich Ostermann. Under Czar Pete...

language acquisition

(Encyclopedia)language acquisition, the process of learning a native or a second language. The acquisition of native languages is studied primarily by developmental psychologists and psycholinguists. Although how c...

Dumbartonshire

(Encyclopedia)Dumbartonshire or Dunbartonshire, former county, W central Scotland. Under the Local Government Act of 1973, the county of Dumbartonshire (or Dumbarton) became (1975) part of the new Strathclyde regio...

Bute

(Encyclopedia)Bute or Buteshire, former county, W Scotland, consisting mainly of the islands of Bute and Arran. Under the Local Government Act of 1973, Bute became (1975) part of the new Strathclyde region. In the ...

Perthshire

(Encyclopedia)Perthshire or Perth, former county, central Scotland. Under the Local Government Act of 1973, Perthshire was divided between the Tayside and Central regions. In the local government reorganization of ...

London Company

(Encyclopedia)London Company, corporation composed of stockholders residing in and about London, which, together with the Plymouth Company (see Virginia Company), was granted (1606) a charter by King James I to fou...

contralto

(Encyclopedia)contralto kəntrălˈtō [key], female voice of lowest pitch. Originally, the term denoted a second voice set against (contra) a high voice (alto); thus, a second high voice. Since most second parts w...

Helps, Sir Arthur

(Encyclopedia)Helps, Sir Arthur, 1813–75, English historian and author. His works include Friends in Council (3 series, 1847–59), dialogues on social and intellectual subjects; The Spanish Conquest in America (...