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bicameral system

(Encyclopedia)bicameral system bīkămˈərəl [key], governmental system dividing the legislative function between two chambers, an “upper,” such as the U.S. Senate and the British House of Lords, and a “low...

Albert, Carl Bert

(Encyclopedia)Albert, Carl Bert, 1908–2000, U.S. Congressman (1947–76), b. McAlester, Okla. Admitted to the bar in 1935, Albert enlisted (1941) in the army as a private, served (1942–46) in the Pacific during...

Falmouth, town, United States

(Encyclopedia)Falmouth, town (2020 pop. 32,517), Barnstable co., SE Mass., on Cape Cod; settled c.1660, inc. 1686. Once a whaling and boatbuilding center, the town ha...

Ellison, Keith Maurice

(Encyclopedia)Ellison, Keith Maurice, 1963–, African-American politician, the first Muslim to be elected to the U.S. Congress; b. Detroit. A convert to Islam from Roman Catholicism while at Wayne State Univ. (B.A...

Hoyer, Steny Hamilton

(Encyclopedia)Hoyer, Steny Hamilton stĕnˈē, hoiˈər [key], 1939–, U.S. politician, b. New York City, grad. Univ. of Maryland (B.S. 1963), Georgetown Univ. Law Center (J.D., 1966). A pragmatic centrist Democra...

Foot, Samuel Augustus

(Encyclopedia)Foot, Samuel Augustus, 1780–1846, American politician, b. Cheshire, Conn. He served as a Democratic Republican in the Connecticut legislature (1817–18, 1821–23, 1825–26) and in the U.S. House ...

Plainfield

(Encyclopedia)Plainfield, city (1990 pop. 46,567), Union co., NE N.J.; settled 1684 by Friends, inc. as a city 1869. Formerly a residential city in the New York metropolitan area, it has become the urban center of ...

Dirksen, Everett McKinley

(Encyclopedia)Dirksen, Everett McKinley dûrkˈsən [key], 1896–1969, American politician, b. Pekin, Ill. A veteran of World War I, he held minor offices in Pekin before serving in the U.S. House of Representativ...

Johnson, Richard Mentor

(Encyclopedia)Johnson, Richard Mentor, 1780–1850, Vice President of the United States (1837–41), b. Kentucky, on the site of present Louisville. Admitted (1802) to the bar, he became prominent in state politics...

Onassis, Jacqueline Bouvier

(Encyclopedia)Onassis, Jacqueline Bouvier bo͞oˈvē-āˌ, bo͞ovyāˈ [key], 1929–94, b. Southampton, N.Y. Of a socially prominent family, she worked (1951–53) as a journalist and photographer before marrying ...