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Head Start

(Encyclopedia)Head Start, U.S. educational program for disadvantaged preschool children, established under the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964. Aimed initially only at poor children, its purpose was to organize pr...

Longchamp, William of

(Encyclopedia)Longchamp, William of lôngˈshămp, lôNshäNˈ [key], d. 1197, chancellor and justiciar of England, bishop of Ely. After service with Geoffrey, duke of Brittany, he joined Richard (later Richard I) ...

alod

(Encyclopedia)alod ăˈlŏd [key]. In feudal tenure, lands held without obligation to any suzerain (overlord) were termed held in alod. Alodial lands existed in England and on the Continent. They became less common...

serjeanty

(Encyclopedia)serjeanty or sergeanty both: särˈjĕntē [key], a type of tenure in English feudalism in which the tenant held his lands from the king or overlord in return for the performance of some personal, oft...

Pisa, Council of

(Encyclopedia)Pisa, Council of, 1409, unrecognized council of the Roman Catholic Church. It was summoned to end the Great Schism (see Schism, Great) by members of the colleges of cardinals of the two rivals, Gregor...

Irish Land Question

(Encyclopedia)Irish Land Question, name given in the 19th cent. to the problem of land ownership and agrarian distress in Ireland under British rule. The long-term result of conquest, confiscation, and colonization...

Arthur, Chester Alan

(Encyclopedia)Arthur, Chester Alan, 1829–86, 21st President of the United States (1881–85), b. Fairfield, Vt. He studied law and before the Civil War practiced in New York City. In the war he was (1861–63) qu...

Stair, John Dalrymple, 2d earl of

(Encyclopedia)Stair, John Dalrymple, 2d earl of, 1673–1747, Scottish general and diplomat; son of the 1st earl of Stair. He began a military career in the Netherlands, but on his father's death returned home and ...

United Church of Christ

(Encyclopedia)United Church of Christ, American Protestant denomination formed in 1957 by a merger of the General Council of Congregational Christian Churches (see Congregationalism) and the Evangelical and Reforme...

Transportation, United States Department of

(Encyclopedia)Transportation, United States Department of, executive department of the U.S. government, established by the Department of Transportation Act of 1966. Its chief executive officer, the secretary, is a ...