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abstract of title

(Encyclopedia)abstract of title, in law, brief history of the title to a piece of land. An account is given of recorded documents, court proceedings, wills, mortgages, taxes, previous sales, easements, and all othe...

Manley, Norman Washington

(Encyclopedia)Manley, Norman Washington, 1893–1969, prime minister of Jamaica (1959–62); father of Michael Manley. Of Irish and African descent, he was educated at Oxford and became an internationally known law...

Tennessee Valley Authority

(Encyclopedia)Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), independent U.S. government corporate agency, created in 1933 by act of Congress; it is responsible for the integrated development of the Tennessee River basin. The h...

Simpson-Miller, Portia

(Encyclopedia)Simpson-Miller, Portia, 1945–, Jamaican political leader, prime minister of Jamaica (2006–7, 2012–16). A member of the People's National party (PNP), she was first elected to parliament in 1976....

Liberia

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Liberia lībērˈēə [key] [New Lat.,=place of freedom], officially Republic of Liberia, republic (2015 est. pop. 4,500,000), 43,000 sq mi (111,370 sq km), W Africa. Liberia fronts on the Atla...

Bakiyev, Kurmanbek Saliyevich

(Encyclopedia)Bakiyev, Kurmanbek Saliyevich ko͞ormänbĕkˈ bäkēˈyĕv [key], 1949–, Kyrgyz political leader, president of Kyrgyzstan (2005–2010), b. Masadan. A graduate of Kuybyshev Polytechnic Institute (1...

O'Flaherty, Liam

(Encyclopedia)O'Flaherty, Liam lēˈəm ōflăˈhərtē [key], 1897–1984, Irish novelist, b. Aran Islands, Co. Galway. Many of his realistic novels have a compassionate interest in troubled people caught in the t...

National Forest System

(Encyclopedia)National Forest System, federally owned reserves, c.191 million acres (77.4 million hectares), administered by the Forest Service of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture. The system is made up of 155 nationa...

commonwealth

(Encyclopedia)commonwealth, form of administration signifying government by the common consent of the people. To Locke and Hobbes and other 17th-century writers the term meant an organized political community simil...

Geshur

(Encyclopedia)Geshur gĕshˈyo͞orī, gĕshyo͞oˈrī [key], in the Bible. 1 Small Aramaic kingdom that remained in the territory allotted to Manasseh. It occupied barren land NE of the Sea of Galilee. After the di...