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From New World Encyclopedia
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Adolphe Adam
French composer Adolphe Adam composed the music for the Christmas carol "O Holy Night"Violin
Violin makers are called "luthiers"Sir Thomas Browne
The seventeenth century English author Sir Thomas Browne merged the new method of scientific inquiry with his Christian faithSonghai Empire
At its height, in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the Songhai Empire was the largest empire in West AfricaIran-Iraq War
The First Persian Gulf War was between the armed forces of Iraq and Iran and lasted from September 1980 until August 1988Wovoka
Wovoka, also known as Jack Wilson, was a Paiute shaman who received a vision of peace and instructions on how to perform the Ghost DanceHoly Sepulchre
the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem is considered the holiest Christian site in the world, built at the place of Jesus' crucifixion and burialAcademies (Shuyuan)
Yuelu Academy (Shuyuan) was established in 976 C.E. and still exists today as Hunan UniversityBette Davis
Bette Davis co-founded the "Hollywood Canteen," a club providing food, dancing, and entertainment by Hollywood stars for servicemen on their way to fight overseas in World War IIBook of Jeremiah
The Book of Jeremiah is best known for its theme of the "New Covenant" that involves a personal relationship with GodXiuzhen
Xiuzhen means “to practice and learn the way of the truth” and is the principal technique in the Taoist quest for immortalityFamily
The UN declared the family the fundamental unit of society and entitled to protection by the StateChina
In Chinese, China is called "Zhongguo," meaning "central state"Thesaurus
The word "thesaurus" comes from a Greek word meaning "treasury"Naturalization
The term naturalization originates in the concept of "natural born" citizensDrawing and quartering
In Britain, the penalty of drawing and quartering was usually reserved for commoners, including knights. Noble traitors were merely beheadedEarth lodge
Several Plains Indians tribes lived in semi-subterranean buildings covered with earth, known as earth lodgesHarriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman was buried with full military honors at Fort Hill Cemetery in Auburn, New YorkStanford University
Frederick Law Olmsted, the landscape architect who created New York’s Central Park, designed the physical plan for Stanford UniversityMorse Code
Morse code has been in use for more than 160 years — longer than any other electronic encoding systemStephen Hawking
Stephen Hawking was born on the 300th anniversary of Galileo's death and died on the 139th anniversary of Einstein's birthEdward Rutledge
Edward Rutledge was the youngest of all the signers of the Declaration of IndependenceFidel Castro
Castro's dying wish was to avoid a cult of personality developing by banning statues and naming of streets in his honorOratory
Cicero suggested that the best orator should be the best human being, understanding the correct way to live, acting upon it by being active in politics, and instructing others through speeches, through example, and through making good laws.Ming Dynasty
The Great Wall of China was built primarily during the Ming Dynasty (1368 to 1644)Victor Turner
Victor Turner coined the term "communitas," referring to an unstructured state in which all members of a community are equal allowing them to share a common experience, usually through a rite of passageClassical music
Classical music is considered primarily a written musical tradition, preserved in music notationVictorian era
The Victorian era was a time of unprecedented population increase in EnglandEzekiel
Ezekiel prophesied the return of the Jews to Jerusalem, the rebuilding of the Temple, and the coming of the Messianic KingBaal
Baal is the archetypal fertility deity: his death brings drought and his resurrection brings rain and new lifeJoseph Warren
Joseph Warren died during the Battle of Bunker Hill, fighting in the front lines for the American RevolutionCocos (Keeling) Islands
The geographical and historical isolation of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands has resulted in the development an ecosystem with unique floral and faunal habitatsWellesley College
Wellesley College was founded by Pauline and Henry Fowle Durant to give women an opportunity for higher educationSylvia Plath
Sylvia Plath was the first poet to win a Pulitzer Prize posthumously, for The Collected Poems published almost twenty years after her death by suicideColin Powell
Colin Powell began his military career in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps at City College of New YorkJiang Qing
Jiang Qing, better known as Madame Mao, studied literature and drama and was a successful actress prior to marrying Chairman Mao ZedongModern dance
Modern dance developed in the twentieth century as a rebellion not only against the constraints of classical ballet but as a way to express contemporary social concernsGeorge Steinbrenner
George Steinbrenner changed the manager of the New York Yankees twenty times during his first twenty-three seasons.Lee Falk
Lee Falk's comic strip character 'The Phantom' inspired the costumed image of what has today become known as the "superhero."North Carolina
At 6,684 feet, Mount Mitchell is the highest point in the U.S. East of the Mississippi River.