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(Encyclopedia) Spencer, George John Spencer, 2d Earl, 1758–1834, British public official. He was elected to the House of Commons in 1780 but in 1783 inherited the earldom. In 1794, William Pitt appointed him first...
(Encyclopedia) executive privilege, exemption of the executive branch of government, or its officers, from having to give evidence, specifically, in U.S. law, the exemption of the president from disclosing informati...
(Encyclopedia) Grenville, George Nugent Temple, 1st marquess of Buckingham, 1753–1813, British statesman; second son of George Grenville. He sat in the House of Commons from 1774 until 1779, when he succeeded his ...
(Encyclopedia) parsnip, garden plant (Pastinaca sativa) of the family Umbelliferae (parsley family), native to the Old World. It has been cultivated since Roman times for its long, fleshy, edible root. Wine and beer...
(Encyclopedia) birthwort bûrthˈwûrt, –wôrt [key], common name for the Aristolochiaceae, a family of shrubs and woody climbing vines found in the tropics and other warm regions. The largest genus, Aristolochia,...
(Encyclopedia) bayberry, common name for the Myricaceae, a family of trees and shrubs with aromatic foliage, found chiefly in temperate and subtropical regions. The waxy gray “berries” of the North American wild...
(Encyclopedia) Przhevalsky, Nikolai Mikhailovich nyĭkəlīˈ mēkhīˈləvĭch pərzhĭvälˈskē [key], 1839–88, Russian geographer and explorer in central and E Asia. He made five major expeditions—one to the...
(Encyclopedia) Purchas, Samuel pûrˈkəs, –chəs [key], 1577?–1626, English clergyman and compiler of travel literature, b. Essex. Chaplain to the archbishop of Canterbury, he later was rector of St. Martin's C...
(Encyclopedia) minimum wage, lowest wage legally permitted in an industry or in a government or other organization. The goal in establishing minimum wages has been to assure wage earners a standard of living above t...
(Encyclopedia) William IV, 1765–1837, king of Great Britain and Ireland (1830–37), third son of George III. He went to sea in 1779, served under Admiral George Rodney in action off Cape St. Vincent (1780), and b...