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Gloucester, Thomas of Woodstock, duke of

(Encyclopedia)Gloucester, Thomas of Woodstock, duke of, 1355–97, English nobleman; youngest son of Edward III. He was betrothed (1374) to Eleanor, heiress of Humphrey de Bohun, earl of Hereford, and became earl o...

National Forest System

(Encyclopedia)National Forest System, federally owned reserves, c.191 million acres (77.4 million hectares), administered by the Forest Service of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture. The system is made up of 155 nationa...

Lancaster, John of, duke of Bedford

(Encyclopedia)Lancaster, John of, duke of Bedford: see Bedford, John of Lancaster, duke of. ...

John of Lancaster, duke of Bedford

(Encyclopedia)John of Lancaster, duke of Bedford: see Bedford, John of Lancaster, duke of. ...

District of Columbia, University of the

(Encyclopedia)District of Columbia, University of the, at Washington, D.C.; coeducational; land-grant and federally supported; est. 1976 with the merger of three existing colleges; predominantly African American. I...

Yunnan

(Encyclopedia)Yunnan or Yun-nan both: yünˈnän [key] [south of the clouds], province (2010 pop. 45,966,239), c.162,000 sq mi (419,600 sq km), SW China. It borders Myanmar on the west and Laos and Vietnam on the s...

hydraulic machine

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Hydraulic pressure: In any hydraulic device the pressure exerted by one piston is transmitted throughout the fluid. Since pressure equals force divided by area, a small force (F1) exerted on a ...

Protocols of the Elders of Zion

(Encyclopedia)Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a fraudulent document that reported the alleged proceedings of a conference of Jews in the late 19th cent., at which they discussed plans to overthrow Christianity thr...

Field of the Cloth of Gold

(Encyclopedia)Field of the Cloth of Gold, locality between Guines and Ardres, not far from Calais, in France, where in 1520 Henry VIII of England and Francis I of France met for the purpose of arranging an alliance...

luxury tax

(Encyclopedia)luxury tax, levy on articles that are not essential to a normal standard of living. Such taxes may be imposed strictly for revenue purposes or they may be intended to discourage consumption of certain...