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Zollverein

(Encyclopedia)Zollverein tsôlˈfərīnˈ [key] [Ger.,=customs union], in German history, a customs union established to eliminate tariff barriers. Friedrich List first popularized the idea of a combination to abol...

Cinna, d. 44 b.c., Roman tribune

(Encyclopedia)Cinna (Caius Helvius Cinna), d. 44 b.c., Roman tribune. At the funeral of Julius Caesar the mob mistook him for Lucius Cornelius Cinna and killed him. He was probably the minor poet Cinna, a friend of...

cremation

(Encyclopedia)cremation, disposal of a corpse by fire. It is an ancient and widespread practice, second only to burial. It has been found among the tribes of the Pacific Northwest, among Northern Athapascan bands i...

Grimald, Nicholas

(Encyclopedia)Grimald, Grimalde, or Grimoald, Nicholas all: grĭmˈôld [key], 1519?–1562?, English poet. He contributed 40 poems to the first edition (1557) of Tottel's miscellany, of which “A Funeral Song upo...

Jonas, Justus

(Encyclopedia)Jonas, Justus yo͝osˈto͝os yōˈnäs [key], 1493–1555, German Protestant reformer. In 1521, Jonas, then a professor at the Univ. of Erfurt, accompanied Martin Luther to the Diet of Worms. During t...

Clare, John Fitzgibbon, 1st earl of

(Encyclopedia)Clare, John Fitzgibbon, 1st earl of, 1749–1802, Irish statesman. He was (1783–89) attorney general of Ireland and in 1789 became lord chancellor. A resolute upholder of the Protestant ascendancy i...

Perov, Vasily Grigoryevich

(Encyclopedia)Perov, Vasily Grigoryevich vəsēˈlyē grĭgôrˈyəvĭch pyĭrôfˈ [key], 1833–82, Russian historical, genre, and portrait painter. He was the leader of the realist school in Russia. His early wo...

Amyot, Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Amyot or Amiot, Joseph ämyōˈ [key], 1718–1794?, French Roman Catholic missionary in China, a Jesuit. He wrote a long treatise on the history, sciences, and customs of the Chinese (15 vol., 1776�...

gong

(Encyclopedia)gong, percussion instrument consisting of a disk, usually with upturned edges, 3 ft (91 cm) or more in diameter in the modern orchestra, often made of bronze, and struck with a felt- or leather-covere...

death

(Encyclopedia)death, cessation of all life (metabolic) processes. Death may involve the organism as a whole (somatic death) or may be confined to cells and tissues within the organism. Causes of death in human bein...