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Augustinians

(Encyclopedia)Augustinians, religious order in the Roman Catholic Church. The name derives from the Rule of St. Augustine (5th cent.?), which established rules for monastic observance and common religious life. The...

Medici, Lorenzino de'

(Encyclopedia)Medici, Lorenzino de' dā mĕˈdĭchē, Ital. māˈdēchē [key], 1515–47, member of the cadet branch of the Medici family. A boon companion of Alessandro de' Medici, he secretly plotted the duke's...

Monmouth, battle of

(Encyclopedia)Monmouth, battle of, in the American Revolution, fought June 28, 1778, near the village of Monmouth Courthouse (now Freehold, N.J.). Gen. George Washington chose this location to attack the British tr...

Porter, Fitz-John

(Encyclopedia)Porter, Fitz-John, 1822–1901, Union general in the American Civil War, b. Portsmouth, N.H.; nephew of David Porter. He saw service in the Mexican War and was an instructor at West Point (1849–55)....

lignum vitae

(Encyclopedia)lignum vitae lĭgˈnəm vīˈtē [key] [Lat.,=wood of life], tropical American evergreen tree of the genus Guaiacum. The hard, dense, and extremely durable wood, obtained chiefly from G. officinale an...

López Arellano, Oswaldo

(Encyclopedia)López Arellano, Oswaldo ōsväˈdō lōˈpās ärāyäˈnō [key], 1921–2010, president of Honduras (1963–71, 1972–75). An army colonel, he led the violent coup that ousted (Oct., 1963) Preside...

Hamilton, William Hamilton, 2d duke of

(Encyclopedia)Hamilton, William Hamilton, 2d duke of, 1616–51, Scottish nobleman. With his brother James Hamilton, 3d marquess and 1st duke of Hamilton, he gained favor with Charles I of England. He was created (...

game birds

(Encyclopedia)game birds, a term used variously for all birds of the order Galliformes (gallinaceous, or chickenlike, birds), for certain quarry species within this order, and for a variety of quarry birds of sever...

natural law

(Encyclopedia)natural law, theory that some laws are basic and fundamental to human nature and are discoverable by human reason without reference to specific legislative enactments or judicial decisions. Natural la...

louse

(Encyclopedia)louse, common name for members of either of two distinct orders of wingless, parasitic, disease-carrying insects. Lice of both groups are small and flattened with short legs adapted for clinging to th...