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Brewer's: Brown Bess

means brown barrel. The barrels were browned to keep them from rusting. (Dutch, bus, a gun-barrel; Low German, büsse; Swedish, byssa. Our arquebus, blunderbuss.) In 1808 a process of…

Burgundy

(Encyclopedia) BurgundyBurgundybûrˈgəndē [key], Fr. BourgogneBurgundyb&oobreve;rgôˈnyə [key], historic region, E France. The name once applied to a large area embracing several kingdoms, a free…

Livingston

(Encyclopedia) Livingston, family of American statesmen, diplomats, and jurists. Edward Livingston,Edward Livingston, 1764–1836, b. Livingston Manor, was the son of Robert R. Livingston (1718–75)…

Charles V, Holy Roman emperor

(Encyclopedia) Charles V, 1500–1558, Holy Roman emperor (1519–58) and, as Charles I, king of Spain (1516–56); son of Philip I and Joanna of Castile, grandson of Ferdinand II of Aragón, Isabella of…

Norfolk, Thomas Howard, 4th duke of

(Encyclopedia) Norfolk, Thomas Howard, 4th duke of, 1536–72, English nobleman, son of Henry Howard, earl of Surrey. He succeeded his grandfather, the 3d duke, in 1554. He was favored by Queen…

iron lung

(Encyclopedia) iron lung, device used to maintain artificial respiration over an extended period of time. Before the successful vaccination program against poliomyelitis, it was used mostly in…

Lansing, John

(Encyclopedia) Lansing, John, 1754–1829?, American political leader and jurist, b. Albany, N.Y. He served as military secretary to Gen. Philip J. Schuyler in the American Revolution and later became…

Larissa, Greece

(Encyclopedia) LarissaLarissalərĭsˈə [key] or LárisaLárisaläˈrēsä [key], city (1991 pop. 113,090), capital of Larissa prefecture, E Greece, in Thessaly on the Piniós River. It is an agricultural…

John IV, king of Portugal

(Encyclopedia) John IV, 1604–56, king of Portugal (1640–56). He succeeded as duke of Braganza in 1630. Descended from Manuel I and in illegitimate line from John I, he had the strongest claim to the…