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king snake

(Encyclopedia)king snake, name for a number of species of the genus Lampropeltis, nonvenomous, egg-laying, constricting snakes of North America which show much variation in color and markings. The common king snake...

Storm King

(Encyclopedia)Storm King, mountain, 1,355 ft (413 m) high, SE N.Y., on the west shore of the Hudson River near West Point. It is included in the Palisades Interstate Parks. ...

Shore, Jane

(Encyclopedia)Shore, Jane, or Elizabeth Shore, d. 1527?, mistress of Edward IV of England. The wife of William Shore, a goldsmith, she became c.1470 mistress to Edward IV and exerted a great influence over the king...

Nollekens, Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Nollekens, Joseph nŏlˈĭkənz [key], 1737–1823, English sculptor, b. London. He studied in Rome and in 1770 returned to London, where he became the most fashionable portrait sculptor of his day. A...

Louis II, French king

(Encyclopedia)Louis II or Louis the Stammerer, 846–79, French king. He succeeded (877) his father, Emperor of the West Charles II, as king. On Louis's death his kingdom was divided between his sons Carloman and L...

Hutton, James

(Encyclopedia)Hutton, James, 1726–97, Scottish geologist, chemist, and naturalist. He was initially attracted to chemistry; he entered the legal profession at the Univ. of Edinburgh; turned to medicine, as it clo...

Sverre

(Encyclopedia)Sverre svĕˈrə [key], d. 1202, king of Norway (1184–1202). He claimed to be the illegitimate son of King Sigurd; the question of his paternity is still disputed. He spent his childhood in the Faer...

Aragón, house of

(Encyclopedia)Aragón, house of, family that ruled in Aragón, Catalonia, Majorca, Sicily, Naples, Sardinia, Athens, and other territories in the Middle Ages. It was descended from Ramiro I of Aragón (1035–63), ...

Glamis

(Encyclopedia)Glamis glämz [key], village, Angus, E Scotland. King Malcolm II died (1034) nearby, and a sculptured cross in the village is known as King Malcolm's Gravestone. Macbeth was thane of Glamis, and the c...

Sharp, James

(Encyclopedia)Sharp, James, 1613–79, Scottish prelate. As a Presbyterian minister, Sharp became (1650) a leader of the moderate wing of the Scottish church called the Resolutioners. He was captured (1651) by Oliv...