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Parkes, Sir Henry

(Encyclopedia)Parkes, Sir Henry, 1815–96, Australian political leader, b. England. He emigrated to Australia in 1839 and later founded a newspaper, the Empire, to advocate responsible government and an end to the...

Oliver, Andrew

(Encyclopedia)Oliver, Andrew, 1706–74, lieutenant governor of colonial Massachusetts (1771–73), b. Boston. Oliver was elected to the provincial council in 1746 and later served as secretary of the province. His...

commutation of sentence

(Encyclopedia)commutation of sentence, in criminal law, reduction of a sentence for a criminal act by action of the executive head of the government. Like pardon, commutation of sentence is a matter of grace, not o...

Conway, Henry Seymour

(Encyclopedia)Conway, Henry Seymour, 1721–95, English soldier and politician; nephew of Robert Walpole. Early in his life he entered upon concurrent and distinguished military and parliamentary careers. He fell i...

Warren, Charles

(Encyclopedia)Warren, Charles, 1868–1954, American lawyer and historian, b. Boston. He was admitted to the Massachusetts bar in 1892. An assistant U.S. Attorney General (1914–18), he served as a special master ...

borstal system

(Encyclopedia)borstal system bôrˈstəl [key], rehabilitation method formerly used in Great Britain for delinquent boys aged 16 to 21. The idea originated (1895) with the Gladstone Committee as an attempt to refor...

Carpenter, Mary

(Encyclopedia)Carpenter, Mary, 1807–77, English educator. She devoted her life to the establishment of schools and institutions and the promotion of educational reforms. In 1835 she organized the Working and Visi...

Welsh Marches

(Encyclopedia)Welsh Marches, lands in Wales along the English border. After the Norman conquest of England in the 11th cent., William I established the border earldoms of Chester, Shrewsbury, and Hereford to protec...

Jim Crow laws

(Encyclopedia)Jim Crow laws, in U.S. history, statutes enacted by Southern states and municipalities, beginning in the 1880s, that legalized segregation between blacks and whites. The name is believed to be derived...

embargo

(Encyclopedia)embargo ĕmbärˈgō [key], prohibition by a country of the departure of ships or certain types of goods from its ports. Instances of confining all domestic ships to port are rare, and the Embargo Act...
 

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