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General Land Office

(Encyclopedia)General Land Office, established (1812) in the U.S. Treasury Dept. and transferred (1849) to the U.S. Dept. of the Interior. Empowered to survey, manage, and dispose of the public domain, the office a...

tax exemption

(Encyclopedia)tax exemption, immunity from the requirement of paying taxes. Federal, state, and usually local law provide exemption from taxation for a wide variety of organizations, usually not-for-profit, such as...

Pombal, Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, marquês de

(Encyclopedia)Pombal, Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, marquês de səbəstyouNˈ zho͝ozĕˈ dĭ kərväˈlyō ē mĕˈlo͝o märkāsˈ dĭ po͝ombälˈ [key], 1699–1782, Portuguese statesman. After studying...

poor law

(Encyclopedia)poor law, in English history, legislation relating to public assistance for the poor. Early measures to relieve pauperism were usually designed to suppress vagrancy and begging. In 1601, England passe...

Mohammed bin Salman

(Encyclopedia)Mohammed bin Salman, 1985–, crown prince of Saudi Arabia, b. Riyadh. The son of King Salman bin Abdul Aziz, he received a law degree from King Saud Univ. (2007) and then worked in government and for...

Alexis, czar of Russia

(Encyclopedia)Alexis əlyĭksyāˈ mēkhīˈləvĭch [key], 1629–76, czar of Russia (1645–76), son and successor of Michael. His reign, marked by numerous popular outbreaks, was crucial for the later developmen...

Peel, Sir Robert

(Encyclopedia)Peel, Sir Robert, 1788–1850, British statesman. The son of a rich cotton manufacturer, whose baronetcy he inherited in 1830, Peel entered Parliament as a Tory in 1809. He served (1812–18) as chief...

Justice, United States Department of

(Encyclopedia)Justice, United States Department of, federal executive department established in 1870 and charged with providing the means for enforcing federal laws, furnishing legal counsel in federal cases, and c...

closed shop and open shop

(Encyclopedia)closed shop and open shop. The term “closed shop” is used to signify an establishment employing only members of a labor union. The union shop, a closely allied term, indicates a company where empl...

Gortyna

(Encyclopedia)Gortyna gôrtīˈnə [key], ancient city, S central Crete. Under Rome it was one of the leading cities of the island. Many ancient Greek remains have been discovered on the site. An inscription dating...