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Galileo

(Encyclopedia)Galileo (Galileo Galilei) gălˌĭlēˈō; gälēlĕˈō gälēlĕˈē [key], 1564–1642, great Italian astronomer, mathematician, and physicist. By his persistent investigation of natural laws he la...

husband and wife

(Encyclopedia)husband and wife, the legal aspects of the married state (for the sociological aspects, see marriage). The former Anglo-American law of marriage was chiefly characterized by the view that husband an...

Nerva

(Encyclopedia)Nerva (Marcus Cocceius Nerva) nûrˈvə [key], c.a.d. 30–a.d. 98, Roman emperor (a.d. 96–a.d. 98). He had an honorable career as a statesman at Rome, and his reputation was blameless. At the death...

Nicholas III, pope

(Encyclopedia)Nicholas III, d. 1280, pope (1277–80), a Roman named Giovanni Gaetano Orsini; successor of John XXI. As a cardinal he made a great reputation in diplomacy, and he was a close confidant of popes for ...

ephemeris time

(Encyclopedia)ephemeris time (ET), astronomical time defined by the orbital motions of the earth, moon, and planets. The earth does not rotate with uniform speed, so the solar day is an imprecise unit of time. Ephe...

Portland, William Henry Cavendish Bentinck, 3d duke of

(Encyclopedia)Portland, William Henry Cavendish Bentinck, 3d duke of, 1738–1809, British statesman; great-grandson of the 1st earl of Portland. He was lord lieutenant of Ireland (1782) and nominal head of the coa...

Ford, John, English dramatist

(Encyclopedia)Ford, John, 1586–c.1640, English dramatist, b. Devonshire. He went to London to study law but was never called to the bar. The early part of his playwriting career was taken up with collaborations, ...

amphictyony

(Encyclopedia)amphictyony ămfĭkˈtēōˌnē, –ŏˌnē, –ənēˌ [key], in ancient Greece, a league connected with maintaining a temple or shrine. There were a number of these, but by far the most important wa...

Gasca, Pedro de la

(Encyclopedia)Gasca, Pedro de la pāˈᵺrō ᵺā lä gäsˈkä [key], c.1485–1567?, Spanish colonial administrator. A priest as well as a lawyer, he was selected by Charles V to end the anarchy prevailing in Pe...

Hooker, Richard

(Encyclopedia)Hooker, Richard, 1554?–1600, English theologian and clergyman of the Church of England. He studied and lectured at Oxford and preached at Drayton-Beauchamp, Buckinghamshire; at the Temple Church, Lo...