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bank holidays

(Encyclopedia)bank holidays, days when the law requires that banks be closed. In the United States the list varies from state to state but generally includes, besides the major holidays, many days that are observed...

central bank

(Encyclopedia)central bank, financial institution designed to regulate and control the money supply of a nation, with the goal of fostering economic growth without inflation. Although central banking systems have v...

Kingston upon Thames

(Encyclopedia)Kingston upon Thames, outer borough (1991 pop. 130,300) of Greater London, SE England. Mainly residential, it has light engineering works and manufactures electronic equipment. It also contains one of...

Thames , river, Canada

(Encyclopedia)Thames tĕmz [key], river, c.160 mi (260 km) long, rising NW of Woodstock, S Ont., Canada, and flowing SW past London and Chatham to Lake St. Clair. It is navigable to Chatham, near which was fought (...

Thames , river, England

(Encyclopedia)Thames tĕmz [key], Rom. Tamesis, principal river of England, c.210 mi (340 km) long. It rises in four headstreams (the Thames or Isis, Churn, Coln, and Leach) in the Cotswold Hills, E Gloucestershire...

Sunbury-on-Thames

(Encyclopedia)Sunbury-on-Thames, town (1991 pop. 26,240), Surrey, SE England, on the Thames. Sunbury Park with its walled garden is there. Nearby Shepperton has motion-picture studios and a village center from the ...

Richmond upon Thames

(Encyclopedia)Richmond upon Thames, outer borough (1991 pop. 154,600) of Greater London, SE England. The borough was created in 1965 by the merger of the municipal boroughs of Barnes, Richmond, and Twickenham. Rich...

Coryate, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Coryate or Coryat, Thomas both: kôrˈēət [key], 1577?–1617, English traveler. Grotesque in appearance, he became part of the household of Henry, the oldest son of James I, where he was a sort of ...

rock garden

(Encyclopedia)rock garden, garden planned around natural rock formations or rocks artificially arranged to simulate natural (often mountainous) conditions. The concept of rock gardens is believed to have been intro...

minstrel show

(Encyclopedia)minstrel show, stage entertainment by white performers made up as blacks. Thomas Dartmouth Rice, who gave (c.1828) the first solo performance in blackface and introduced the song-and-dance act Jim Cro...