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Osceola

(Encyclopedia)Osceola ŏsēōˈlə, ō– [key], c.1800–1838, leader of the Seminole. He was also called Powell, the surname of his supposed white father. In the early 1830s, Osceola was living close to Fort King...

Babylonian captivity

(Encyclopedia)Babylonian captivity, in the history of Israel, the period from the fall of Jerusalem (586 b.c.) to the reconstruction in Palestine of a new Jewish state (after 538 b.c.). After the capture of the cit...

Maitland, William

(Encyclopedia)Maitland, William (Maitland of Lethington), 1528?–1573, Scottish statesman. In 1559 he deserted the regent Mary of Guise and joined the revolt of the Protestant nobles. When Mary Queen of Scots retu...

Lukashenko, Aleksandr Grigoryevich

(Encyclopedia)Lukashenko, Aleksandr Grigoryevich əlyĭksänˈdər grĭgôrˈyəvĭch lo͞okäshĕnˈkô [key], Belarusian Alyaksandr Ryhoravich Lukashenka, 1954–, Belarusian politician, president of Belarus (199...

phylloxera

(Encyclopedia)phylloxera fĭlŏkˈsĭrə [key], small, sap-eating, greenish insect of the genus Phylloxera, closely related to the aphid. Phylloxeras feed on leaves and roots, and many species produce galls on deci...

tarweed

(Encyclopedia)tarweed, any of several related resinous herbs (chiefly species of Hemizonia and Madia) of the family Asteraceae (aster family), having strongly scented and sticky herbage. Most North American species...

Wagner, Honus

(Encyclopedia)Wagner, Honus hōˈnŭs wăgˈnər [key], 1874–1955, American baseball player, b. Mansfield (now Carnegie), Pa. His real name was John Peter Wagner. He played semiprofessional ball in Ohio and was g...

Benjamin, Walter

(Encyclopedia)Benjamin, Walter, 1892–1940, German essayist and critic. He is known for his synthesis of eccentric Marxist theory and Jewish messianism. In particular, his essays on Charles Baudelaire and Franz Ka...

Somerset, Robert Carr, earl of

(Encyclopedia)Somerset, Robert Carr, earl of, 1587?–1645, Scottish favorite of James I of England. His family name also appears as Ker. He may have accompanied James to England as a page in 1603, but he appears t...

Wright, Silas

(Encyclopedia)Wright, Silas, 1795–1847, American political leader, b. Amherst, Mass. He was admitted (1819) to the bar and began practicing law at Canton, N.Y. Becoming involved in state politics, in the 1820s he...