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Braille, Louis

(Encyclopedia)Braille, Louis brāl, Fr. lwē brīˈyə [key], 1809?–1852, French inventor of the Braille system of printing and writing for the blind. Having become blind from an accident at the age of 3, he was ...

astronomical coordinate systems

(Encyclopedia)astronomical coordinate systems. A coordinate system is a method of indicating positions. Each coordinate is a quantity measured from some starting point along some line or curve, called a coordinate ...

Miamisburg

(Encyclopedia)Miamisburg mīămˈēzbûrgˌ [key], city (1990 pop. 17,834), Montgomery co., SW Ohio, on the Miami River; laid out 1818, inc. 1932. It is a tobacco market with diverse agriculture, and metal and pape...

Gustavo A. Madero

(Encyclopedia)Gustavo A. Madero go͞ostäˈvō ä mädāˈrō [key], city, Federal District, S cent...

Consumer Affairs, Office of

(Encyclopedia)Consumer Affairs, Office of, agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce, established 1971. The office advises and represents the president on matters of consumer interest, and analyzes and coordinates ...

Tres Marías, Las

(Encyclopedia)Tres Marías, Las läs trās märēˈäs [key], archipelago, in the Pacific Ocean, c.60 mi (100 km) W of Nayarit state, Mexico. Of the four islands, two—María Madre, which is the largest (c.56 sq m...

National Guard

(Encyclopedia)National Guard, U.S. militia. The militia is authorized by the Constitution of the United States, which also defines the militia's functions and the federal and state role. Article 1, Section 8 provid...

homelessness

(Encyclopedia)homelessness, the condition of not having a permanent place to live, widely perceived as a societal problem only beginning in the 1980s. Figures for the number of homeless people in the United States ...

corporation tax

(Encyclopedia)corporation tax, imposts levied by federal, state, or local governments against corporations, their income, or their peculiar attributes, such as charters, capitalization, dividends, and franchises. I...

civil commitment

(Encyclopedia)civil commitment or involuntary commitment, process by which a court determines whether or not to order an individual to receive treatment or care or be confined. A person may be committed after a hea...