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Bland-Allison Act
Bland-Allison Act 1878, passed by the U.S. Congress to provide for freer coinage of silver. The original bill offered by Representative Richard P. Bland incorporated the demands of the Western radicals for free and unlimited coinage of silver. This was passed by the House but was unacceptable to th...
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Malayo-Polynesian languages
Malayo-Polynesian languages , sometimes also called Austronesian languages , family of languages estimated at from 300 to 500 tongues and understood by approximately 300 million people in Madagascar; the Malay Peninsula; Indonesia and New Guinea; the Philippines; Taiwan; the Melanesian, Micronesi...
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Pathans
Pathans , group of seminomadic peoples consisting of more than 60 tribes, numbering approximately 10 million in Pakistan and 6 million in Afghanistan, where they form the dominate ethnic group (historically known as Afghans and now typically as Pashtuns). Pathans are Muslims and speak Pashto (or Pus...
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debit card
debit card card that allows the cost of goods or services that are purchased to be deducted directly from the purchaser's checking account. They can also be used at automated teller machines for withdrawing cash from the user's checking account. Increasingly common in the 1990s as an alternative ...
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refugee
refugee one who leaves one's native land either because of expulsion or to escape persecution. The legal problem of accepting refugees is discussed under asylum ; this article considers only mass dislocations and the organizations that help refugees.
The Rise of International Refugee Organiz...
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George Fisher Baker
George Fisher Baker 1840-1931, American financier and philanthropist, b. Troy, N.Y. Baker was one of the founders of the First National Bank of New York in 1863 and became (1877) its president and then (1909) chairman of its board of directors. Largely through his efforts this bank became one of th...
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Geologic Timescale
Geologic Timescale
Geologic Timescale
Era
Period
Epoch
Approximate duration (millions of years)
Approximate number of years ago (millions of years)
Not an era but the time preceding the Cambrian.
Cenozoic
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solar wind
solar wind stream of ionized hydrogen—protons and electrons—with an 8% component of helium ions and trace amounts of heavier ions that radiates outward from the sun at high speeds. The continuous expansion of the solar corona into the surrounding vacuum of space carries away from the ...
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Al Gezira
Al Gezira , or Al Jazirah , region, central Sudan, occupying the tract between the White and Blue Niles south of their convergence at Khartoum. The Arabic word Gezira means "island" or "peninsula." Wad Madani is the region's chief town. The planned development of the region for irriga...
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National Education Association
National Education Association (NEA), organization of professional educators in the United States, with almost 2.5 million members. The NEA was founded (1850) as the National Teachers Association, changed its name in 1857, and was chartered by Congress in 1906. Its 13 standing committees and 7 divi...
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