(Encyclopedia) loon, common name for migratory aquatic birds found in fresh- and saltwater in the colder parts of the Northern Hemisphere. Its strange, laughing call carries for great distances. Like…
(Encyclopedia) Dukakis, Michael StanleyDukakis, Michael Stanleyd&oomacr;käkˈĭs [key], 1933–, American political leader, b. Brookline, Mass. He was a Democratic member of the Massachusetts house…
(Encyclopedia) curlewcurlewkûrˈl&oomacr; [key], common name for large shore birds of both hemispheres, generally brown and buff in color and with decurved bills. There are eight species,…
(Encyclopedia) Common Cause, U.S. organization that seeks a “reordering of national priorities and revitalization of the public process to make our political and governmental institutions more…
(Encyclopedia) Platt, Orville Hitchcock, 1827–1905, U.S. Senator (1879–1905), b. Washington, Litchfield co., Conn. Platt held many public offices in Connecticut before he served in the U.S. Senate.…
(Encyclopedia) Quincy, JosiahQuincy, Josiahkwĭnˈzē [key], 1744–75, political leader in the American Revolution, b. Boston. An outstanding lawyer, he wrote a series of anonymous articles for the…
(Encyclopedia) Warren, Mercy Otis, 1728–1814, American writer, b. Barnstable, Mass.; sister of James Otis and wife of James Warren, who was speaker of the Massachusetts house of representatives. An…
(Encyclopedia) Caroline of Brunswick, 1768–1821, consort of George IV of England. The daughter of Charles William Ferdinand, duke of Brunswick, she married George (then prince of Wales) in 1795. She…
(Encyclopedia) Stair, John Dalrymple, 2d earl of, 1673–1747, Scottish general and diplomat; son of the 1st earl of Stair. He began a military career in the Netherlands, but on his father's death…
(Encyclopedia) Bland-Allison Act, 1878, passed by the U.S. Congress to provide for freer coinage of silver. The original bill offered by Representative Richard P. Bland incorporated the demands of…
