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Davies, Sir John

(Encyclopedia)Davies, Sir John dāˈvĭs [key], 1569–1626, English poet. A successful lawyer, he served as solicitor general and attorney general in Ireland from 1603 to 1619. His works include Nosce Teipsum (159...

O'Connor, Rory

(Encyclopedia)O'Connor, Rory or Roderick, 1116?–1198, last high king of Ireland. He became king of Connacht in 1156 and seized the high kingship in 1166. His ascendancy was brief, however, for his quarrel with De...

Boyd, Ernest

(Encyclopedia)Boyd, Ernest, 1887–1946, American critic and author, b. Dubin, Ireland. In the British consular service, he resigned in 1920 and settled in New York City, where he became an important literary figur...

Bruce, Edward

(Encyclopedia)Bruce, Edward, d. 1318, Scottish king of Ireland, brother of Robert I of Scotland. He aided his brother in the war for independence from England and in 1315 was declared heir to Robert's throne. With ...

McGee, Thomas D'Arcy

(Encyclopedia)McGee, Thomas D'Arcy məgēˈ [key], 1825–68, Canadian journalist and statesman, a leader in the movement for confederation, b. Ireland. He emigrated (1842) to Boston, where he became editor of the ...

Poynings, Sir Edward

(Encyclopedia)Poynings, Sir Edward, 1459–1521, English statesman. After taking part in an insurrection (1483) against Richard III, he fled to the Continent, where he joined the followers of Henry Tudor, earl of R...

Armagnac

(Encyclopedia)Armagnac ärmänyäkˈ [key], region and former county, SW France, in Gascony, roughly coextensive with Gers dept. Auch is the chief town. Armagnac is famous for the brandy bearing the same name. The ...

Waldeck

(Encyclopedia)Waldeck välˈdĕk [key], former principality, central Germany, now an administrative district (c.420 sq mi/1,090 sq km) of Hesse. Arolsen was the capital. An agricultural region, hilly and forested, ...

town

(Encyclopedia)town, in the United States. In the New England states the town is the basic unit of local government. The New England town government's unique feature is the town meeting, much praised as a nearly pur...

Posse Comitatus Act

(Encyclopedia)Posse Comitatus Act, 1878, U.S. federal law that makes it a crime to use the military as a domestic police force in the United States under most circumstances. The law was designed to end the use of f...