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Russian American Company

(Encyclopedia)Russian American Company, colonial trading company, chartered by Czar Paul I in 1799. The charter granted the merchant-dominated company monopoly trading privileges in Russian America, which included ...

Spanish-American literature

(Encyclopedia)Spanish-American literature, the writings of both the European explorers of Spanish America and its later inhabitants. See also Spanish literature; Portuguese literature; Brazilian literature. T...

Spanish-American War

(Encyclopedia)Spanish-American War, 1898, brief conflict between Spain and the United States arising out of Spanish policies in Cuba. It was, to a large degree, brought about by the efforts of U.S. expansionists. ...

Peters, Richard

(Encyclopedia)Peters, Richard, 1744–1828, American jurist, b. Philadelphia. After serving as secretary of the board of war (1776–81), he was briefly in the Continental Congress (1782–83) and then in the state...

Murray, Philip

(Encyclopedia)Murray, Philip, 1886–1952, American labor leader, b. Blantyre, Scotland. He emigrated to the United States in 1902 and worked in the Pennsylvania coal mines. After he was discharged for fighting wit...

Mukasey, Michael Bernard

(Encyclopedia)Mukasey, Michael Bernard myo͞okāˈzē [key], 1941–, American jurist, b. Bronx, N.Y., grad. Columbia (A.B., 1963), Yale Law School (LL.B., 1967). After being in private practice (1967–72), he was...

Hopkinson, Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Hopkinson, Joseph, 1770–1842, American jurist, b. Philadelphia; son of Francis Hopkinson. A successful lawyer, he helped to defend (1804) Justice Samuel Chase in impeachment proceedings and was asso...

Dillon, John Forrest

(Encyclopedia)Dillon, John Forrest, 1831–1914, American jurist, b. Montgomery co., N.Y., M.D. State Univ. of Iowa, 1850. He abandoned medical practice early in his career and was admitted to the Iowa bar in 1852....

Allen, William

(Encyclopedia)Allen, William, 1704–80, American jurist, b. Philadelphia. He and his father-in-law, Andrew Hamilton, decided the choice of Philadelphia instead of Chester as provincial capital, and he helped finan...

manor house

(Encyclopedia)manor house, dwelling house of the feudal lord of a manor, occupied by him only on occasional visits if he held many manors. Although not built specifically for fortification as castles were, many man...