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transcontinental railroad

(Encyclopedia)transcontinental railroad, in U.S. history, rail connection with the Pacific coast. In 1845, Asa Whitney presented to Congress a plan for the federal government to subsidize the building of a railroad...

Castro, Fidel

(Encyclopedia)Castro, Fidel (Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz) käsˈtrō [key], 1926–2016, Cuban revolutionary, premier of Cuba (1959–76), president of the Council of State and of the Council of Ministers (1976–2...

flag, symbolic cloth

(Encyclopedia)flag, piece of cloth, usually bunting or similar light material, plain, colored, or bearing a device, varying in size and shape, but often oblong or square, used as an ensign, standard, or signal or f...

Duane, James Chatham

(Encyclopedia)Duane, James Chatham, 1824–97, American army engineer, b. Schenectady, N.Y., grad. Union College, 1844, and West Point, 1848; grandson of James Duane. In the Civil War he organized the engineer equi...

English, William Hayden

(Encyclopedia)English, William Hayden, 1822–96, U.S. Congressman (1853–61), b. Scott co., Ind. A lawyer, he entered politics and served in the House of Representatives (1853–1861). In 1858, when the terms und...

Fairmont

(Encyclopedia)Fairmont, city (2020 pop. 18,302), seat of Marion co., N central W.Va., where the West Fork and Tygart rivers form the Monongahela; settled 1793 around ...

Haynes, John

(Encyclopedia)Haynes, John, c.1594–1654, colonial governor of Massachusetts and then of Connecticut. He emigrated (1633) from England to Massachusetts and as governor (1635) banished Roger Williams, an act he lat...

Giddings, Franklin Henry

(Encyclopedia)Giddings, Franklin Henry, 1855–1931, American sociologist, b. Fairfield co., Conn., grad. Union College, Schenectady, N.Y. In 1894 he became professor of sociology at Columbia, where he earned a rep...

Gillett, Ezra Hall

(Encyclopedia)Gillett, Ezra Hall jəlĕtˈ [key], 1823–75, American Presbyterian clergyman and historian, b. Colchester, Conn. After serving (1845–70) as pastor in Harlem, New York City, he became professor of ...

Gastonia

(Encyclopedia)Gastonia găstōˈnēə [key], city (2020 pop. 80,411), seat of Gaston co., SW N.C.; inc. 1877. ...