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Orr, James Lawrence

(Encyclopedia)Orr, James Lawrence, 1822–73, American politician, b. Craytonville, S.C. He served in the South Carolina legislature (1844–48) and in the U.S. House of Representatives (1849–59), where he was (1...

Tet offensive

(Encyclopedia)Tet offensive, 1968, a series of crucial battles in the Vietnam War. On Jan. 31, 1968, the first day of the celebration of the lunar new year, Vietnam's most important holiday, the Vietnamese Communis...

Vesey, Denmark

(Encyclopedia)Vesey, Denmark, 1767?–1822, African-American leader. After many years as a slave he won (1800) $1,500 in a lottery and purchased his freedom. Intelligent and energetic, he acquired considerable weal...

Johannesburg

(Encyclopedia)Johannesburg jōhănˈĭsbörgˌ, yōhäˈnəsbörkhˌ [key], city, now part and seat of City of Johannesburg metropolitan municipality, Gauteng prov., NE South Africa, on the southern slopes of the W...

Freedom Riders

(Encyclopedia)Freedom Riders, American civil-rights demonstrators who engaged (1961) in nonviolent protests against segregation of public interstate buses and terminals in the South. From the 1940s several federal ...

Hammond, James Henry

(Encyclopedia)Hammond, James Henry, 1807–64, American statesman, b. Newberry co., S.C. A lawyer and the owner of large plantations on the Savannah River, Hammond was an early believer in secession. He voiced this...

Platte

(Encyclopedia)Platte, river, c.310 mi (500 km) long, formed by the confluence of the North Platte (680 mi/1,090 km long) and South Platte (430 m/690 km) rivers at North Platte, Neb. It flows generally E across S Ne...

Bahr el Jebel

(Encyclopedia)Bahr el Jebel bäˈhər ĕl jĕbˈĕl [key], river, 594 mi (956 km) long, section of the White Nile, central South Sudan, Africa. The name is usually used for the White Nile between Nimule, where it e...

barbecue

(Encyclopedia)barbecue [West Indian or South American], in the United States, traditionally an open-air gathering, political or social, in which meats are roasted whole over a pit of embers and food and drink are l...

Bandung Conference

(Encyclopedia)Bandung Conference, meeting of representatives of 29 African and Asian nations, held at Bandung, Indonesia, in 1955. The aim—to promote economic and cultural cooperation and to oppose colonialism—...