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Currie, Sir Arthur William

(Encyclopedia)Currie, Sir Arthur William, 1875–1933, Canadian commander in World War I. He made a distinguished record for himself in World War I as a brigade and division commander, particularly at Ypres (1915) ...

Western Federation of Miners

(Encyclopedia)Western Federation of Miners (WFM), a radical labor union that organized the miners and smelter workers of the Rocky Mountain states. Created in 1893 by the merger of several local miners' unions, the...

Shiloh, battle of

(Encyclopedia)Shiloh, battle of, Apr. 6–7, 1862, one of the great battles of the American Civil War. The battle took its name from Shiloh Church, a meetinghouse c.3 mi (5 km) SSW of Pittsburg Landing, which was a...

Leiden

(Encyclopedia)Leiden or Leyden both: līˈdən [key], city (1994 pop. 114,892), South Holland prov., W Netherlands, on the Old Rhine (Oude Rijn) River. Manufactures include medical equipment, machinery, graphic art...

Bunker Hill, battle of

(Encyclopedia)Bunker Hill, battle of, in the American Revolution, June 17, 1775. Detachments of colonial militia under Artemas Ward, Nathanael Greene, John Stark, and Israel Putnam laid siege to Boston shortly afte...

Rye, town, England

(Encyclopedia)Rye, town (1991 pop. 4,127), East Sussex, SE England, on the Rother River. It is a tourist resort and small port with boatbuilding and netmaking industries. Rye was one of the “ancient towns” adde...

Foch, Ferdinand

(Encyclopedia)Foch, Ferdinand fĕrdēnäNˈ fôsh [key], 1851–1929, marshal of France. A professor at the École de Guerre, he later served (1908–11) as director of that institute. In World War I, he was respon...

Spotsylvania

(Encyclopedia)Spotsylvania spŏtˌsĭlvāˈnyə [key], rural county (1990 pop. 57,403), NE Va., formerly part of the estate of Alexander Spotswood, colonial governor of Virginia. It was the scene of several major e...

mustard gas

(Encyclopedia)mustard gas, chemical compound used as a poison gas in World War I. The burning sensation it causes on contact with the skin is similar to that caused by oil from black mustard seeds. The compound is ...

Reynolds, John Fulton

(Encyclopedia)Reynolds, John Fulton, 1820–63, Union general in the American Civil War, b. Lancaster, Pa. He distinguished himself in the Mexican War. In the Civil War, Reynolds was made (Aug., 1861) a brigadier g...