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Marion

(Encyclopedia)Marion. 1 City (1990 pop. 14,545), seat of Williamson co., S Ill.; inc. 1841. It is the commercial and retail center of a farm and coal area and has a large soft drink bottling plant. A maximum-securi...

multiple sclerosis

(Encyclopedia)multiple sclerosis (MS), chronic, slowly progressive autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system attacks the protective myelin sheaths that surround the nerve cells of the brain and spinal co...

force bill

(Encyclopedia)force bill, popular name for several laws in U.S. history, notably the act of Mar. 2, 1833, and the Reconstruction acts of May 31, 1870; Feb. 28, 1871; and Apr. 20, 1871. The first force bill, passed ...

Confucius

(Encyclopedia)Confucius kənfyo͞oˈshəs [key], Chinese K'ung Ch'iu or K'ung Fu-tzu, Pinyin Kong Fuzi, c.551–479? b.c., Chinese sage. Positive evidence concerning the life of Confucius is scanty; modern scholars...

European Parliament

(Encyclopedia)European Parliament, an institution of the governing body of the European Union (EU). It convenes on a monthly basis in Strasbourg, France; most meetings of the separate parliamentary committees are h...

Sibelius, Jean Julius Christian

(Encyclopedia)Sibelius, Jean Julius Christian zhän yo͞oˈlyo͝os krĭsˈtyän sĭbāˈlyo͝os [key], 1865–1957, Finnish composer. Sibelius was a highly personal, romantic composer, yet at the same time he repre...

Porter, David Dixon

(Encyclopedia)Porter, David Dixon, 1813–91, American admiral, b. Chester, Pa.; son of David Porter. He served under his father in the Mexican navy before he was appointed (1829) midshipman in the U.S. navy. He he...

New Hampshire Grants

(Encyclopedia)New Hampshire Grants, early name (1749–77) for Vermont, given because most of the early settlers came in under land grants from Benning Wentworth, the colonial governor of New Hampshire. Although th...

Sacramento, city, United States

(Encyclopedia)Sacramento săkrəmĕnˈtō [key], city (1990 pop. 369,365), state capital and seat of Sacramento co., central Calif., on the Sacramento River at its confluence with the American River; settled 1839, ...

requiem

(Encyclopedia)requiem rĕkˈwēəm, rēˈ–, rāˈ– [key] [Lat.,=rest], proper Mass for the souls of the dead, performed on All Souls' Day and at funerals. The reformation of Roman Catholic liturgy following the...