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referendum

(Encyclopedia)referendum, referral of proposed laws or constitutional amendments to the electorate for final approval. This direct form of legislation, along with the initiative, was known in Greece and other early...

Ripken, Cal, Jr.

(Encyclopedia)Ripken, Cal, Jr. (Calvin Edward Ripken, Jr.), 1960–, American baseball player, b. Havre de Grace, Md. The son of a long-time coach and manager in the Baltimore Orioles organization, he joined the te...

Castiglione, Baldassare, Conte

(Encyclopedia)Castiglione, Baldassare, Conte bäldäs-säˈrā kōnˈtā kästēlyōˈnā [key], 1478–1529, Italian soldier, author, and statesman attached to the court of the duke of Milan and later in the servi...

Bradley, Bill

(Encyclopedia)Bradley, Bill (William Warren Bradley), 1943–, American athlete and politician, b. Crystal City, Mo. He first gained wide attention as an All-America basketball player at Princeton. Graduating in 19...

Southcott, Joanna

(Encyclopedia)Southcott, Joanna southˈkət [key], 1750–1814, English religious visionary. Uneducated, even illiterate, she spent her earlier years in domestic service. She began c.1792 to claim the gift of proph...

Millo

(Encyclopedia)Millo mĭlˈō [key], in the Bible, fortification, N Jerusalem, built in the time of David. At Shechem there was a similar fortification called Beth-millo. ...

Agabus

(Encyclopedia)Agabus ăgˈəbəs [key], in the New Testament, prophet who foretold the famine in the time of Claudius Caesar and the imprisonment of Paul. ...

golden parachute

(Encyclopedia)golden parachute, a contract given to top executives of a corporation to provide benefits in case of job loss due to a takeover by another firm or a merger. The unusually generous benefits may include...

Bradshaw, George

(Encyclopedia)Bradshaw, George, 1801–53, English map engraver and the originator of railway guides. Bradshaw's Railway Time-Tables, first published in 1839, became Bradshaw's Monthly Railway Guide (first issued 1...

Tatnai

(Encyclopedia)Tatnai tătˈnāī [key], in the Bible, Persian governor of the province W of the Euphrates at the time of Zerubbabel. He opposed the rebuilding of the Temple. ...