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moraine

(Encyclopedia)moraine mərānˈ [key], a formation composed of unsorted and unbedded rock and soil debris called till, which was deposited by a glacier. The till that falls on the sides of a valley glacier from the...

air mass

(Encyclopedia)air mass, large body of air within the earth's atmosphere in which temperature and humidity, although varying at different heights, remain similar throughout the body at any one height. Air masses for...

Concert of Europe

(Encyclopedia)Concert of Europe, term used in the 19th cent. to designate a loose agreement by the major European powers to act together on European questions of common interest. The concert emerged after the Congr...

Cummings, Homer Stillé

(Encyclopedia)Cummings, Homer Stillé, 1870–1956, American lawyer, U.S. Attorney General (1933–39), b. Chicago. He practiced law in Stamford, Conn., where he was mayor three times. He served as chairman of the ...

Ellison, Keith Maurice

(Encyclopedia)Ellison, Keith Maurice, 1963–, African-American politician, the first Muslim to be elected to the U.S. Congress; b. Detroit. A convert to Islam from Roman Catholicism while at Wayne State Univ. (B.A...

Hill, Benjamin Harvey

(Encyclopedia)Hill, Benjamin Harvey, 1823–82, American statesman, b. Jasper co., Ga. A highly successful lawyer and Whig politician, he supported the Whig-Democratic alliance that carried Georgia in favor of the ...

Green, Samuel Swett

(Encyclopedia)Green, Samuel Swett, 1837–1918, American librarian, b. Worcester, Mass. Green was librarian of the Worcester, Mass., Free Public Library (1871–1909) and was a member of the Free Public Library Com...

Maclay, William

(Encyclopedia)Maclay, William məklāˈ [key], 1734–1804, U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania (1789–91), b. Chester co., Pa. A lawyer and a provincial and state official before serving as Senator, he kept a journal,...

Letcher, John

(Encyclopedia)Letcher, John, 1813–84, American politician, b. Lexington, Va. He studied law and practiced at Lexington, where he also edited the Jacksonian Democrat Valley Star. In Congress (1851–59), he was kn...

politburo

(Encyclopedia)politburo, the former central policy-making and governing body of the Communist party of the Soviet Union and, with minor variations, of other Communist parties. It was first created on the eve of the...