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William the Lion

(Encyclopedia)William the Lion, 1143–1214, king of Scotland (1165–1214), brother and successor of Malcolm IV. Determined to recover Northumbria (lost to England in 1157), he supported the rebellion (1173–74) ...

William the Silent

(Encyclopedia)William the Silent or William of Orange (William I, prince of Orange), 1533–84, Dutch statesman, principal founder of Dutch independence. William married four times. His first wife was Anne of Egm...

will-o'-the-wisp

(Encyclopedia)will-o'-the-wisp, phenomenon known also as ignis fatuus and jack-o'-lantern. It is seen at night as a pale, flickering light over marshland. There is no generally accepted explanation for it; it may r...

The Dalles Dam

(Encyclopedia)The Dalles Dam, 260 ft (79 m) high and 8,875 ft (2,705 m) long, on the Columbia River between Oregon and Wash., NE of The Dalles, Oreg.; built 1952–57 by the U.S. Corps of Engineers. The dam, a majo...

Theodoric the Great

(Encyclopedia)Theodoric the Great, c.454–526, king of the Ostrogoths and conqueror of Italy, b. Pannonia. He spent part of his youth as a hostage in Constantinople. Elected king in 471 after his father's death, h...

Cato the Elder

(Encyclopedia)Cato the Elder kāˈtō [key] or Cato the Censor, Lat. Cato Major or Cato Censorius, 234–149 b.c., Roman statesman and moralist, whose full name was Marcus Porcius Cato. He fought in the Second Puni...

Cato the Younger

(Encyclopedia)Cato the Younger or Cato of Utica, 95 b.c.–46 b.c., Roman statesman, whose full name was Marcus Porcius Cato; great-grandson of Cato the Elder. Reared by his uncle Marcus Livius Drusus, he showed an...

Pliny the Elder

(Encyclopedia)Pliny the Elder (Caius Plinius Secundus) plĭˈnē [key], c.a.d. 23–a.d. 79, Roman naturalist, b. Cisalpine Gaul. He was a friend and fellow military officer of Vespasian, becoming eventually an arm...
 

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