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Nippon

(Encyclopedia)Nippon nĭpˈŏn, nĭpŏnˈ [key], name for Japan, derived from Dai Nippon, meaning Great Japan. The expression comes from the Chinese ideograph for the place where the sun comes from, or Land of the ...

Macquarie, Lachlan

(Encyclopedia)Macquarie, Lachlan məkwäˈrē [key], 1761–1824, governor (1809–21) of the British colonies in Australia. Sent to replace the corrupt rule of the officers of the original convict guard, he establ...

Waitangi, Treaty of

(Encyclopedia)Waitangi, Treaty of (Feb. 6, 1840), a pact between some Maori tribes of New Zealand and the British Gov. William Hobson. The treaty protected Maori land interests in exchange for recognition of Britis...

Sackville, Charles, 6th earl of Dorset

(Encyclopedia)Sackville, Charles, 6th earl of Dorset, 1638–1706, English poet and courtier. After the restoration, he became a member of the intimate circle of young rakes and wits at the court of Charles II, wri...

centumviri

(Encyclopedia)centumviri sĕntŭmˈvĭrī [key] [Lat.,=a hundred men], in ancient Rome, law court of a varying number of members representing each Roman tribe that heard civil cases involving land and property clai...

Hawran

(Encyclopedia)Hawran or Hauran houränˈ [key] [Heb.,=hollow or cavernous land], region, SW Syria. It is a largely treeless area marked by conical volcanic peaks, barren lava fields, and rich lava soil. In the nort...

Midwest

(Encyclopedia)Midwest or Middle West, region of the United States centered on the western Great Lakes and the upper-middle Mississippi valley. It is a somewhat imprecise term that has been applied to the northern s...

Martin v. Hunter's Lessee

(Encyclopedia)Martin v. Hunter's Lessee, case decided in 1816 by the U.S. Supreme Court. From 1779 to 1785, Virginia passed a series of laws by which the state confiscated all lands owned by foreigners. David Hunte...

Singleton, Benjamin

(Encyclopedia)Singleton, Benjamin, c. 1809–c. 1900, African-American leader of post–Civil War black resettlement in the West, b. Davidson co. (now coextensive with Nashville), Tenn. He escaped slavery in 1846, ...

Ross, Sir James Clark

(Encyclopedia)Ross, Sir James Clark, 1800–1862, British polar explorer and rear admiral. In 1818 he accompanied his uncle, Sir John Ross, in search of the Northwest Passage and commanded the Erebus. He later stud...