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museums of science

(Encyclopedia)museums of science, institutions or buildings where collections relevant to science and technology are preserved and displayed to promote education and research. While the preponderance of these museu...

Johnson, Richard W.

(Encyclopedia)Johnson, Richard W., 1827–97, Union general in the Civil War, b. Livingston co., Ky., grad. West Point, 1849. Before the Civil War he served principally on the frontier. Johnson, made a brigadier ge...

Fletcher, Thomas Clement

(Encyclopedia)Fletcher, Thomas Clement, 1827–99, governor of Missouri (1865–69), b. Herculaneum, Mo. A Democrat opposed to slavery, he became a Republican in 1856 and supported Lincoln for the presidential nomi...

Bay of Pigs Invasion

(Encyclopedia)Bay of Pigs Invasion, 1961, an unsuccessful invasion of Cuba by Cuban exiles, supported by the U.S. government. On Apr. 17, 1961, an armed force of about 1,500 Cuban exiles landed in the Bahía de Coc...

Liberty, Statue of

(Encyclopedia)Liberty, Statue of, statue on Liberty Island in Upper New York Bay, commanding the entrance to New York City. Liberty Island, c.10 acres (4 hectares), formerly Bedloe's Island (renamed in 1956), was t...

Friends, Religious Society of

(Encyclopedia)Friends, Religious Society of, religious body originating in England in the middle of the 17th cent. under George Fox. The members are commonly called Quakers, originally a term of derision. The org...

Cox, Jacob Dolson

(Encyclopedia)Cox, Jacob Dolson, 1828–1900, Union general in the Civil War and American statesman, b. Montreal, of a New York City family. Admitted to the Ohio bar in 1853, he was active in organizing the new Rep...

Biddle, Clement

(Encyclopedia)Biddle, Clement, 1740–1814, American Revolutionary soldier, b. Philadelphia. Early in the war, he helped organize the “Quaker Blues,” a company of volunteers. He later served as deputy quarterma...

Salvation Army

(Encyclopedia)Salvation Army, Protestant denomination and international nonsectarian Christian organization for evangelical and philanthropic work. The Salvation Army was founded by William Booth, with the assist...

star-of-Bethlehem, in botany

(Encyclopedia)star-of-Bethlehem, in botany, low, spring-blooming bulbous plant (Ornithogalum umbellatum) of the family Liliaceae (lily family), native to the Mediterranean region but naturalized in North America an...