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Greene, Nathanael

(Encyclopedia)Greene, Nathanael, 1742–86, American Revolutionary general, b. Potowomut (now Warwick), R.I. An iron founder, he became active in colonial politics and served (1770–72, 1775) in the Rhode Island a...

Ghiberti, Lorenzo

(Encyclopedia)Ghiberti, Lorenzo lōrĕnˈtsō gēbĕrˈtē [key], c.1378–1455, Florentine sculptor. He received his early training in the workshop of Bartoluccio. In 1401 he entered the competition for a bronze p...

Speyer

(Encyclopedia)Speyer shpīˈər [key], city (1994 pop. 49,310), Rhineland-Palatinate, SW Germany, on the Rhine River. The city, sometimes called Spires in English, is a river port and industrial center; manufacture...

siege

(Encyclopedia)siege, assault against a city or fortress with the purpose of capturing it. The history of siegecraft parallels the development of fortification and, later, artillery. In early times battering rams an...

Vespasian

(Encyclopedia)Vespasian (Titus Flavius Vespasianus) vĕspāˈzhən [key], a.d. 9–a.d. 79, Roman emperor (a.d. 69–a.d. 79), founder of the Flavian dynasty. The son of a poor family, he made his way in the army b...

American Revolution

(Encyclopedia)American Revolution, 1775–83, struggle by which the Thirteen Colonies on the Atlantic seaboard of North America won independence from Great Britain and became the United States. It is also called th...

Morrison, Toni

(Encyclopedia)Morrison, Toni, 1931–2019, American writer, b. Lorain, Ohio, as Chloe Ardelia (later Anthony) Wofford; B.A. Howard Univ., 1953, M.F.A. Cornell, 1955. Her fiction is noted for its poetic language, lu...

Pitt, William, 1759–1806, British statesman

(Encyclopedia)Pitt, William, 1759–1806, British statesman; 2d son of William Pitt, 1st earl of Chatham. Trained as a lawyer, he entered Parliament in 1781 and in 1782 at the age of 23 became chancellor of the exc...

Seoul

(Encyclopedia)Seoul sāˈo͞ol, sāˈo͝ol, sōl [key], city (1995 pop. 10,229,262), capital of South Korea, NW South Korea, on the Han River. It has special status equivalent to that of a province. The political, ...

Rumsfeld, Donald Henry

(Encyclopedia)Rumsfeld, Donald Henry, 1932–2021, American government official, b. Chicago, Princeton Univ. (B.A., 1954). After graduating college, Rumsfeld enliste...