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English sparrow

(Encyclopedia)English sparrow or house sparrow, small bird, Passer domesticus, common throughout most of the world. English sparrows are 4 to 7 in. (10–18 cm) long, with short, stout bills. The male is brown with...

amendment

(Encyclopedia)amendment, in law, alteration of the provisions of a legal document. The term usually refers to the alteration of a statute or a constitution, but it is also applied in parliamentary law to proposed c...

guillemot

(Encyclopedia)guillemot gĭlˈəmŏtˌ [key], northern sea bird, genus Cephas, of the auk family. The black guillemot, or trystie, Cephus grylle, is about 13 in. (33 cm) long and is very striking in its breeding pl...

George V, king of Great Britain and Ireland

(Encyclopedia)George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert), 1865–1936, king of Great Britain and Ireland (1910–36), second son and successor of Edward VII. At the age of 12 he commenced a naval career, but this en...

Foraker, Joseph Benson

(Encyclopedia)Foraker, Joseph Benson fŏrˈəkər [key], 1846–1917, American politician, b. Highland co., Ohio. After service in the Civil War, he practiced law in Cincinnati and was a judge of the superior court...

Abilene

(Encyclopedia)Abilene ăbˈĭlēn [key]. 1 City (2020 pop. 6,460), seat of Dickinson co., central Kans., on the Smoky Hill River; inc. 1869. It was (1867–71) a railhead for a large ca...

Kemp, Jack French

(Encyclopedia)Kemp, Jack French, 1935–2009, American politician and government official, b. Los Angeles. He played football while at Occidental College (grad. 1957) and was a professional quarterback for 13 seaso...

Laud, William

(Encyclopedia)Laud, William, 1573–1645, archbishop of Canterbury (1633–45). He studied at St. John's College, Oxford, and was ordained a priest in 1601. From the beginning Laud showed his hostility to Puritanis...

Pavarotti, Luciano

(Encyclopedia)Pavarotti, Luciano lo͞ochäˈnō pävōräˈtēē [key], 1935–2007, Italian tenor. He made his debut in Italy in 1961, in London in 1963, and in the United States in 1965. He appeared regularly at ...

Buffett, Warren Edward

(Encyclopedia)Buffett, Warren Edward bŭfˈət [key], 1930–, American financial executive, b. Omaha, Nebr., ...