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Hull, Cordell

(Encyclopedia)Hull, Cordell kôrdĕlˈ [key], 1871–1955, American statesman, b. Overton co. (now Pickett co.), Tenn. Admitted to the bar in 1891, he sat (1893–97) in the Tennessee legislature and, after service...

Casey, William Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Casey, William Joseph, 1913–87, American public official, b. New York City. After graduating from Fordham (B.S., 1934) he obtained a law degree from St. Johns Univ. (1937). During World War II he be...

Townsend, Francis Everett

(Encyclopedia)Townsend, Francis Everett tounˈzənd [key], 1867–1960, American reformer, leader of an old-age pension movement, b. Fairbury, Ill., grad. Univ. of Nebraska medical school, 1903. He practiced medici...

Ramos, Fidel Valdez

(Encyclopedia)Ramos, Fidel Valdez fēdĕlˈ väldĕsˈ räˈmōs [key], 1928–, Philippine general and politician, president of the Philippines (1992–98), b. Lingayen. A career army officer, he became deputy chi...

Ronaldo, Cristiano

(Encyclopedia)Ronaldo, Cristiano (Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro), 1985–, Portuguese soccer player. A forward, he began professional play in 2001 with Sporting Portugal. With Manchester United from 2003, he ...

primogeniture

(Encyclopedia)primogeniture, in law, the rule of inheritance whereby land descends to the oldest son. Under the feudal system of medieval Europe, primogeniture generally governed the inheritance of land held in mil...

Americans with Disabilities Act

(Encyclopedia)Americans with Disabilities Act, U.S. civil-rights law, enacted 1990, that forbids discrimination of various sorts against persons with physical or mental handicaps. Its primary emphasis is on enablin...

Mi'kmaq

(Encyclopedia)Mi'kmaq or Micmac, Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). They inhabit Nova Scotia, Cape Br...

Merton, Robert Carhart

(Encyclopedia)Merton, Robert Carhart, 1944–, American economist, b. New York City, Ph.D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1970. He has taught at MIT (1970–88, 2010–) and Harvard (1988–2010). Merton in...

Agrigento

(Encyclopedia)Agrigento ägrējānˈtō [key], Lat. Agrigentum, city, capital of Agrigento prov., S Sicily, Italy, on a hill above the Mediterranean Sea. It is an agricultural market an...