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Royal Society

(Encyclopedia)Royal Society, oldest scientific organization in Great Britain and one of the oldest in Europe. It was founded in 1660 by a group of learned men in London who met to promote scientific discussion, par...

secret society

(Encyclopedia)secret society, organization of initiated persons whose members, purposes, and rituals are kept secret. Human groups throughout history have maintained secret societies. The ceremonies of initiation i...

land-grant colleges and universities

(Encyclopedia)land-grant colleges and universities, U.S. institutions benefiting from the provisions of the Morrill Act (1862), which gave to the states federal lands for the establishment of colleges offering prog...

Métis, in Canadian history and society

(Encyclopedia)Métis [Fr.,=mixed], person of mixed racial heritage, particularly a descendant of French and English fur traders and indigenous women, principally in the Canadian prairie provinces of Alberta, Manito...

Avesta, city, Sweden

(Encyclopedia)Avesta äˈvəstäˌ [key], city (1990 est. pop. 16,860), Kopparberg co., S central Sweden, on the Dalälven River. Aluminum and high quality steel are manufactured there. Formerly a copper mining and...

fallow land

(Encyclopedia)fallow land, cropland that is not seeded for a season; it may or may not be plowed. The land may be cultivated or chemically treated for control of weeds and other pests or may be left unaltered. Allo...

Holy Land

(Encyclopedia)Holy Land: see Palestine.

Graham Land

(Encyclopedia)Graham Land, part of the Antarctic Peninsula, W Antarctica. This ice-covered, mountainous area was thought to be a group of islands but further exploration (1934) showed it to be peninsular. Claimed b...

Northern Land

(Encyclopedia)Northern Land: see Severnaya Zemlya, Russia. ...

Palmer Land

(Encyclopedia)Palmer Land, part of the Antarctic Peninsula, W Antarctica. Named by Americans after Nathaniel Palmer, who explored the area in 1820, Palmer Land (or Palmer Peninsula) referred to the entire Antarctic...