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Knights of Labor

(Encyclopedia)Knights of Labor, American labor organization, started by Philadelphia tailors in 1869, led by Uriah S. Stephens. It became a body of national scope and importance in 1878 and grew more rapidly after ...

Reginald of Châtillon

(Encyclopedia)Reginald of Châtillon shätēyôNˈ [key], d. 1187, Crusader, lord of Krak and Montreal in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. He came to the Holy Land in the Second Crusade and married (1153) Constance,...

Council of Europe

(Encyclopedia)Council of Europe, international organization founded in 1949 to promote greater unity within Europe and to safeguard its political and cultural heritage by promoting human rights and democracy. The c...

Ephesus, Council of

(Encyclopedia)Ephesus, Council of, 431, 3d ecumenical council, convened by Theodosius II, emperor of the East, and Valentinian III, emperor of the West, to deal with the controversy over Nestorianism. Adherents of ...

England, Church of

(Encyclopedia)England, Church of, the established church of England and the mother church of the Anglican Communion. In the first half of the 19th cent., the Catholic and apostolic character of the Church of Engl...

Robert of Courtenay

(Encyclopedia)Robert of Courtenay kôrtˈnē, ko͝ortənāˈ [key], d. 1228, Latin emperor of Constantinople (1218–28). His father, Peter of Courtenay, was elected by the Latin nobles to succeed Henry of Flanders...

Ordinance of 1787

(Encyclopedia)Ordinance of 1787, adopted by the Congress of Confederation for the government of the Western territories ceded to the United States by the states. It created the Northwest Territory and is frequently...

Maryland, University of

(Encyclopedia)Maryland, University of, at College Park; coeducational; land-grant and state supported; chartered 1856 and opened 1859 as Maryland Agricultural College, renamed Maryland State College 1916, consolida...

John of Procida

(Encyclopedia)John of Procida prōˈchēdä [key], c.1225–c.1302, Italian conspirator, lord of the island of Procida. He was an ardent supporter of the Hohenstaufen cause in Sicily and attempted to secure the isl...

Kra, Isthmus of

(Encyclopedia)Kra, Isthmus of krä [key], narrow neck of the Malay Peninsula, c.40 mi (60 km) wide, SW Thailand, between the Bay of Bengal and the Gulf of Thailand. It has long been the proposed site of a ship cana...