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missions

(Encyclopedia)missions, term generally applied to organizations formed for the purpose of extending religious teaching, whether at home or abroad. It also indicates the stations or the fields where such teaching is...

Barons' War

(Encyclopedia)Barons' War, in English history, war of 1263–67 between King Henry III and his barons. In 1261, Henry III renounced the Provisions of Oxford (1258) and the Provisions of Westminster (1259), which ha...

Acton, John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton, 1st Baron

(Encyclopedia)Acton, John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton, 1st Baron, 1834–1902, English historian, b. Naples; grandson of Sir John Francis Edward Acton and of Emmerich Joseph, duc de Dalberg. Denied entrance into C...

Constantine I, Roman emperor

(Encyclopedia)Constantine I or Constantine the Great kŏnˈstəntēn, –tīn [key], 288?–337, Roman emperor, b. Naissus (present-day Niš, Serbia). He was the son of Constantius I and Helena and was named in ful...

Modica

(Encyclopedia)Modica môˈdēkä [key], city (1991 pop. 50,529), SE Sicily, Italy. It is the center of an agricultural region where livestock is raised. Known in ancient times as Motyca, it was a feudal county in t...

levitation

(Encyclopedia)levitation lĕvĭtāˈshən [key], the raising of a human or other body in the air without mechanical aid. The idea is ancient; holy men, both pagan and Christian, were reputed to have had the power o...

Arnold, Sir Edwin

(Encyclopedia)Arnold, Sir Edwin, 1832–1904, English author. After serving as principal of the government college in Pune, India, he joined (1861) the staff of the London Daily Telegraph. He won fame for his blank...

Lynn

(Encyclopedia)Lynn, city (1990 pop. 81,245), Essex co., E Mass.; inc. as a town 1631, as a city 1850. Lynn is an old industrial center. The first ironworks (1643) and the first fire engine (1654) in the country wer...

Kristiansand

(Encyclopedia)Kristiansand krĭstyänsänˈ [key], city (1995 pop. 68,618), capital of Vest-Agder co., S Norway, a commercial and passenger port on the Skagerrak. Manufactures include ships, textiles, metal and woo...

Aran Islands

(Encyclopedia)Aran Islands ărˈən [key], 18 sq mi (47 sq km), Co. Galway, W Republic of Ireland, in Galway Bay. The three islands are Inishmore (the largest), Inisheer, and Inishmaan. The islands are barren; farm...