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Monroe, James

(Encyclopedia)Monroe, James, 1758–1831, 5th President of the United States (1817–25), b. Westmoreland co., Va. In 1816 Monroe obtained the presidential nomination and was easily elected. During his first admi...

Taney, Roger Brooke

(Encyclopedia)Taney, Roger Brooke tôˈnē [key], 1777–1864, American jurist, 5th chief justice of the United States (1836–64), b. Calvert co., Md., grad. Dickinson College, 1795. The Senate, incensed by Tan...

Lincoln, Abraham

(Encyclopedia)Lincoln, Abraham lĭngˈkən [key], 1809–65, 16th President of the United States (1861–65). As time passed Lincoln became more and more the object of adulation; a full-blown “Lincoln legend”...

Lowell, Josephine Shaw

(Encyclopedia)Lowell, Josephine Shaw, 1843–1905, American political reformer, b. Roxbury, Mass. Lowell, brother of Robert Gould Shaw and widow of Colonel Charle...

Circassia

(Encyclopedia)Circassia sərkăshˈēə [key], historic region, encompassing roughly the area between the Black Sea, the Kuban River, and the Caucasus, now largely the Krasnodar Territory of SE European Russia. The...

Essenes

(Encyclopedia)Essenes ĕsˈēnz [key], members of a small Jewish religious order, originating in the 2d cent. b.c. The chief sources of information about the Essenes are Pliny the Elder, Philo's Quod omnius probus ...

Sherman, John

(Encyclopedia)Sherman, John, 1823–1900, American statesman, b. Lancaster, Ohio; brother of William Tecumseh Sherman. He studied law, was admitted (1844) to the bar, and practiced law several years in Mansfield, O...

Pedro II

(Encyclopedia)Pedro II (Dom Pedro II de Alcântara), 1825–91, emperor of Brazil (1831–89). At the age of five, he succeeded under a regency when his father, Pedro I, abdicated. He was declared of age in 1840. P...

Réunion

(Encyclopedia)CEE Réunion rāünyôNˈ [key], island and overseas department of France (2015 est. pop. 863,000), c.970 sq mi (2,510 sq km), one of the Mascarene Islands, in the Indian Ocean c.430 mi (690 km) E ...

Yancey, William Lowndes

(Encyclopedia)Yancey, William Lowndes, 1814–63, American leader of secession, b. Warren co., Ga. Admitted (1834) to the bar in Greenville, S.C., he soon moved to Alabama. There he became an outstanding lawyer, wa...