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Casimir II

(Encyclopedia)Casimir II, 1138–94, duke of Poland (1177–94), youngest son of Boleslaus III. A member of the Piast dynasty, he drove his brother Mieszko III from power at Kraków in 1177 and became the principal...

Pickens, Francis Wilkinson

(Encyclopedia)Pickens, Francis Wilkinson, 1805–69, American politician, b. Colleton District, S.C.; grandson of Andrew Pickens. A lawyer, he served in the state house of representatives and was an ardent supporte...

Richardson, Ernest Cushing

(Encyclopedia)Richardson, Ernest Cushing, 1860–1939, American librarian and bibliographer, b. Woburn, Mass. He was assistant librarian at Amherst (1879–80), librarian and professor of bibliology at Hartford The...

coast guard

(Encyclopedia)coast guard, special naval force assigned to seaboard duties. Its primary responsibilities usually consist in suppressing contraband trade and aiding vessels in distress. The British coast guard was e...

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...

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 ...

Lewis, John Robert

(Encyclopedia)Lewis, John Robert, 1940–2020, African-American politician and civil-rights leader, b. near Troy, Ala., B.A. American Baptist Theological Seminary, 19...

Abubakar, Atiku

(Encyclopedia)Abubakar, Atiku ätēˈko͞o äbo͞obäkärˈ [key], 1946–, Nigerian politician, grad. Ahmadu Bello Univ. Law School (1969). A Muslim and member of the Hausa ethnic group, he worked in the governmen...

Stephens, Alexander Hamilton

(Encyclopedia)Stephens, Alexander Hamilton, 1812–83, American political leader, Confederate vice president (1861–65), b. Taliaferro co. (then part of Wilkes co.), Ga. He was admitted to the bar in 1834, served ...

Abd al-Majid

(Encyclopedia)Abd al-Majid Turk. äbdülˈ mäjēdˈ [key], 1823–61, Ottoman sultan (1839–61), son and successor of Mahmud II to the throne of the Ottoman Empire. The rebellion of Muhammad Ali was checked by th...