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Old Ironsides

(Encyclopedia)Old Ironsides: see Constitution, ship. ...

Longfellow, Samuel

(Encyclopedia)Longfellow, Samuel, 1819–92, American clergyman and hymn writer, b. Portland, Maine; brother and biographer of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. He was a Unitarian pastor in Fall River, Mass., Brooklyn, N...

Drake, Sir Francis

(Encyclopedia)Drake, Sir Francis, 1540?–1596, English navigator and admiral, first Englishman to circumnavigate the world (1577–80). In 1585, Drake commanded a fleet that sacked Vigo in Spain and burned São ...

Blaine

(Encyclopedia)Blaine, city (2020 pop. 70,222), Anoka co., SE Minn., a suburb N of Minneapolis; settled 1862, inc. 1964. Diverse manufactures include medical equipment...

harp seal

(Encyclopedia)harp seal, crested earless, or true, seal, Phoca groenlandica, found in the N Atlantic around Greenland and the White Sea. In the spring, harp seals migrate southward to assemble in large groups to br...

Gruening, Ernest Henry

(Encyclopedia)Gruening, Ernest Henry grēnˈĭng [key], 1887–1974, American political leader, governor of Alaska (1939–53), and U.S. Senator (1959–69), b. New York City. He became interested in journalism and...

Mi'kmaq

(Encyclopedia)Mi'kmaq or Micmac, Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). They inhabit Nova Scotia, Cape Br...

Sampson, William Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Sampson, William Thomas, 1840–1902, American naval officer, b. Palmyra, N.Y. After serving with Union naval forces in the Civil War, he saw varied naval service and was (1886–90) superintendent of...

Bligh, William

(Encyclopedia)Bligh, William blī [key], 1754–1817, British admiral. He is chiefly remembered for the mutiny (1789) on his ship, the Bounty, but he had a long and notable career. He was sailing master on Capt. Ja...

Virginius affair

(Encyclopedia)Virginius affair, 1873, incident that came near to causing war between the United States and Spain. The Virginius, a filibustering ship, was fraudulently flying the American flag and carrying arms to ...