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Blondel de Nesle

(Encyclopedia)Blondel de Nesle blŭnˈdəl də nĕl, Fr. blôNdĕlˈ də nĕl [key], fl. late 12th cent., French troubadour, a favorite of Richard I of England. Legend relates that after Richard was captured and im...

Morrill, Justin Smith

(Encyclopedia)Morrill, Justin Smith, 1810–98, American politician, b. Strafford, Vt. A prosperous merchant, he helped organize (1855) the Republican party in Vermont. First elected to Congress in 1854, he served ...

Woodville, Elizabeth

(Encyclopedia)Woodville, Elizabeth, 1437–92, queen consort of Edward IV of England. She was the daughter of Richard Woodville (later the 1st Earl Rivers). Her first husband, Sir John Grey, was killed fighting on ...

Shiloh, battle of

(Encyclopedia)Shiloh, battle of, Apr. 6–7, 1862, one of the great battles of the American Civil War. The battle took its name from Shiloh Church, a meetinghouse c.3 mi (5 km) SSW of Pittsburg Landing, which was a...

Long Island, battle of

(Encyclopedia)Long Island, battle of, Aug. 27, 1776, American defeat in the American Revolution. To protect New York City and the lower Hudson valley from the British forces massed on Staten Island, George Washingt...

Thomas, George Henry

(Encyclopedia)Thomas, George Henry, 1816–70, Union general in the American Civil War, b. Southampton co., Va. He served in the Seminole War and in the Mexican War. Later he taught at West Point and served in Texa...

Stafford, Henry, 2d duke of Buckingham

(Encyclopedia)Stafford, Henry, 2d duke of Buckingham, 1454?–1483, English nobleman. He was the grandson of Humphrey Stafford, the 1st duke, whom he succeeded in 1460. He passed the death sentence on George, duke ...

Delaware, University of

(Encyclopedia)Delaware, University of dĕlˈəwâr, –wər [key], at Newark, Del.; land-grant and state-supported; coeducational; founded 1743 in New London, Pa., as a Presbyterian school, moved to Newark 1765, an...

Belknap, William Worth

(Encyclopedia)Belknap, William Worth, 1829–90, U.S. Secretary of War (1869–76), b. Newburgh, N.Y. After practicing law in Iowa, he served in the Civil War, was a division commander under Sherman in Georgia and ...