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Homestead Act

(Encyclopedia)Homestead Act, 1862, passed by the U.S. Congress. It provided for the transfer of 160 acres (65 hectares) of unoccupied public land to each homesteader on payment of a nominal fee after five years of ...

Holt, Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Holt, Joseph, 1807–94, American public official, judge advocate general of the U.S. army (1862–75), b. Breckinridge co., Ky. He became a widely known lawyer and political speaker in the old Southw...

Parks, Gordon

(Encyclopedia)Parks, Gordon (Gordon Roger Alexander Buchanan Parks), 1912–2006, African-American photographer, filmmaker, writer, and composer, b. Fort Scott, Kans. Parks purchased his first camera in 1938 and be...

Monmouth, James Scott, duke of

(Encyclopedia)Monmouth, James Scott, duke of mŏnˈməth [key], 1649–85, pretender to the English throne; illegitimate son of Charles II of England by Lucy Walter. After his mother's death, he was cared for by Lo...

Maine, Sir Henry James Sumner

(Encyclopedia)Maine, Sir Henry James Sumner, 1822–88, English jurist and historian, educated at Cambridge. A pioneer in the historical and comparative study of institutions, he viewed the history of laws as the m...

Murray, Sir James Augustus Henry

(Encyclopedia)Murray, Sir James Augustus Henry, 1837–1915, English lexicographer. In 1879 he assumed the editorship of the New English Dictionary (the Oxford English Dictionary), which was his life's work (see di...

James I, king of Majorca

(Encyclopedia)James I, 1243–1311, king of Majorca (1276–1311), count of Roussillon and Cerdagne, lord of Montpellier, son of James I of Aragón. In 1278 he was forced to become a vassal of his brother, Peter II...

James II, king of Majorca

(Encyclopedia)James II, 1315–49, king of Majorca (1324–49), count of Roussillon and Cerdagne, lord of Montpellier; grandson of James I, nephew and successor of Sancho IV. In 1329 he declared himself a vassal of...

James I, king of Scotland

(Encyclopedia)James I, 1394–1437, king of Scotland (1406–37), son and successor of Robert III. King Robert feared for the safety of James because the king's brother, Robert Stuart, 1st duke of Albany, who was v...

James II, king of Scotland

(Encyclopedia)James II, 1430–60, king of Scotland (1437–60), son and successor of James I. During his minority successive earls of Douglas vied for power with factions led by Sir William Crichton and Sir Alexan...