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The LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) popularly known as the Tamil Tigers are a Sri Lankan revolutionary force, formed in the mid-1970's, which has been involved in an armed struggle against the government of Sri Lanka in an attempt to gain independence for the Tamils of the island. The LTTE argue that the Tamils are a distinct people and their nation Tamil Eelam - should be recognised as independent and distinct. The LTTE were allegedly the first paramilitary organisation to employ 'suicide bombers' whereby a member delivered a bomb to a target, in person, and detonated it killing themselves in the process.
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La Leche League International is an organisation of women who offer information and encouragement to mothers who want to breast-feed their babies. The league provides counselling and education to parents and professionals through meetings, seminars, and publications. Its publications include a book called The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding. The league also distributes brochures on childbirth, child care, and related subjects. It directs group discussions for mothers who are breast-feeding and other interested women.
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A labarum is a standard or banner carried in Christian religious processions.
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Labour Day is a public holiday held in many countries in honour of labour, usually held on May 1.
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The Independent Labour Party was inaugurated at Bedford on January 14th 1893. It was established with the object of bringing the trade unions of the country into the political arena as a distinct organisation for securing the direct representation of labour in Parliament, without any regard either to Liberalism or Toryism. Ironically, the Labour Party is today strongly criticised for the influence the trade unions have over it, with many people in Britain wishing to sever the links between the party and the unions.
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The Labour and Socialist International was an international association of socialist parties formed in Hamburg in 1923 and destroyed by the Second World War. It was also known as the Second International.
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The Labrador Current is a cold ocean current flowing southwards off the coast of Labrador and meeting the warm Gulf Stream, causing dense fogs off Newfoundland.
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A labyrinth is a maze like structure.
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Lacerta is a small faint constellation in the northern hemisphere, part of which is crossed by the Milky Way, lying between Cygnus and Andromeda.
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In law, laches is neglect and unreasonable delay in enforcing an equitable right. If a plaintiff with full knowledge of the facts takes an unnecessarily long time to bring an action (e.g. to set aside a contract obtained by fraud) the court will not assist him; hence the maxim 'the law will not help those who sleep on their rights'. No set period is given but if the action is covered by limitation-of-actions legislation, the period given will not be shortened. Otherwise the time allowed depends on the circumstances.
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A lachrymatory or tear bottle is a small, narrow-necked vessel or phial found in ancient tombs. They were formerly thought to hold the tears of mourners - whence the name - another theory is that they were perfume bottles.
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Lady Day (March the 25th) is the feast of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary. It is one of the four quarter days in England, Wales and Ireland. Also called Annunciation Day.
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A lady's-maid is a lady's personal servant, with similar duties to a gentleman's valet, but more numerous. A lady's-maid is responsible for dressing her mistress, ensuring her clothes are in good order, hairdressing her mistress and also repairing and producing some of her mistress' clothes. Mrs Beeton in her 1861 book 'Household Management' describes hairdressing as the most important part of the lady's-maid office.
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Lag B'Omer is a Jewish holiday celebrated on the 18th day of Iyar, the 33rd day of the Omer, and is a day of celebration for the whole nation of Israel. According to tradition, the students of the great sage Rabbi Akiva, who had been dying in great numbers, stopped dying on this day, and this is why it is a day of celebration, or rejoicing. It is also the day on which Rabi Shimon bar Yochai died, and although not normally an occasion for celebration, tradition has it that upon his death he revealed great wisdom, and so on Lag B'Omer he is also celebrated with people flocking to his grave in the city of Meron, singing and dancing and lighting bonfires.
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A lagoon is a shallow stretch of salt water partly or wholly separated from the sea by a narrow strip of land or a low sand-bank or coral reef.
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Lailat-ul-Qadr is a night of study and prayer observed annually by Muslims to mark the communication of the Koran. It usually follows the 27th day of Ramadan.
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Lakes are accumulations of water in hollows on the earth's surface. When they are drained by rivers their waters are fresh, but when they have no outlet they are salty, e.g. the Dead Sea, Sea of Aral, etc.
Lakes may owe their origin to:
- The formation of a barrier across a river.
- Earth movements.
- Ice erosion.
- Volcanic action.
Barriers across a river valley hold back the water, which forms a lake. Such barriers may be of various types. (a) Sometimes artificial barriers of concrete and masonry are built across a valley so as to make a lake which can act as a reservoir for the water-supply of a large city, e.g. Lake Vyrnwy for Liverpool. (b) A glacier may deposit a mass of morainic material across a valley. In this way the lakes of the Lake District and many of the Scottish lakes were formed. (c) A landslip may occur. A lake was formed thus in the Upper Ganges Valley in 1892. Two years later the landslip dam gave way, and disastrous floods occurred downstream. (d) Oxbow lakes are formed from the meanders of rivers. The deposition of silt at the two ends of the 'oxbow' closes the channel between the main river and its old loop. Many oxbow lakes border the River Murray in Australia, and the lower Mississippi. (e) Sometimes a lava stream may flow across a valley and cause the formation of a lake, e.g. Lake Taupo in New Zealand. (f) Sometimes large estuaries are partially filled with silt. In the portions not so filled are large shallow lagoons. Such lagoons are found in deltaic areas. The Norfolk Broads are portions of an old river estuary. (g) When a silt-laden stream enters a lake its speed is checked and a barrier or delta is built across the lake splitting it into two portions. This has happened in the Lake District, where Keswick stands in the alluvial flats between Lakes Bassenthwaite and Derwentwater, and in Switzerland, where Interlaken is situated in the flats between Lakes Thun and Brienz. (h) The action of the sea often causes an accumulation of sand and pebbles which cuts off a lagoon of sea water. The Fleet in Dorset is such a lagoon, cut off from the sea by Chesil Bank, a long pebble beach which joins Portland Island to the mainland.
The nehrungs of East Prussia are sand-spits which enclose the shallow salt-water lagoons or halls, such as Kurische Haff. Earth movements cause lake formation when subsidence occurs. This is most easily seen in rift valleys. Examples of rift valley lakes are the Dead Sea, Lakes Nyasa and Tanganyika in Africa, and Lake Torrens in Australia. These are all long, narrow, and very deep lakes.
In Cheshire, the removal of underground beds of salt has caused subsidence resulting in the 'meres' of the Weaver Valley. The 'folding' of the earth across the line of a river valley may partially block a river and help to form a lake. The study of a good physical map will reveal the connection between mountain building and the formation of Lake Geneva and Lake Constance in Switzerland. Where there are large areas of depressed lowland wide and shallow lakes are formed in the lowest part of the depression, for example the Sea of Aral in Asiatic Russia, Lake Balaton in Hungary, and Lake Eyre in Australia. Ice sheets and valley glaciers may scoop out hollows to form 'rock basins'. Mountain tarns and corrie lakes in North Wales and Scotland have been formed in this way. Water also accumulates in the hollows of unevenly- distributed glacial drift. Such are the lakes of East Prussia, and also those of the Cheshire-Shropshire borders near Ellesmere. Subsidence of the land surface and consequent lake formation may be directly related to volcanic action. Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland is a shallow lake formed by subsidence of this type. Lakes are often formed by the accumulation of water in the craters of extinct volcanoes, for example the Laachersee in the Eifel region of Germany.
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In India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh a lakh is the number 100,000. It often refers to this number of rupees.
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Lambda is the 12th letter of the Greek alphabet.
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Lambrequin was originally a material covering worn over a helmet. It is now a term applied to a short piece of drapery hung over the top of a door or window.
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In the Roman Catholic Church, Lammas (August the 1st) or Lammas Day is a feast commemorating St Peter's miraculous deliverance from prison.
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Lampadomancy is divination by the observation of a candle or lamp.
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Lancaster cloth is a washable, cotton fabric of the oilcloth type, sometimes used as a wall hanging.
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A lancet is a fine pointed, double-edged surgical knife.
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Lancewood is the timber of certain trees of the genus Guatteria. Coachbuilders used to make the shafts of traps from the main stems of the West Indian tree Guatteria virgata, which was renowned for its strength and elasticity.
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The Land Rover Defender 90 Tdi is a British automobile with 4 x 4 drive and a 2495 CC engine giving a top speed of 85 mph and roughly 28 mpg.
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A land-boc was an ancient charter or deed by which land was granted.
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A landau is a four-wheeled, horse-drawn carriage with a top, the back and front of the Which can be raised and lowered independently of each other. The Landau was so named after Landau in Germany where it was first produced.
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A lande is an area of moorland. The term is particularly applied to a moor in south-west France.
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In mining, a lander is the person who receives the kibble at the mouth of a mine shaft.
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Landscape is a term applied to inland scenery, or a picture of inland scenery.
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A lane is a narrow road, usually between hedges, or a passage way.
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Labour law is those areas of law which appertain to the relationship between employers and employees and between employers and trade unions.
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A lanyard is a cord attached to a knife or whistle with which to hold it, or to serve as a handle.
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A larder is a room or cupboard used for storing provisions.
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A lasso is a rope with a running noose used for catching cattle and horses. In Europe, the lasso was first employed by the Huns in the 4th century. The Huns used the lasso for catching horses and cattle, and also as a close combat weapon in war, using the lasso to catch enemy soldiers.
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A last was a British measure which when applied to cod was equal to 12 barrels; applied to hides 12 dozen; applied to leather 200 skins; applied to pitch or tar 14 barrels; applied to wool 12 sacks; applied to gunpowder was 2400 lbs (24 barrels).
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A lath is a thin narrow strip of wood. Laths are used for supporting plaster, and to construct trellis.
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The Latimer Case of 1842 was the first of a series of famous fugitive slave trials
which took place in Boston, Massachusetts. George Latimer was seized without a warrant. A writ of habeas corpus was denied, and the defendant was kept in the custody of the city jailer pending the securing of evidence against him. A writ of personal replevin, under the Act of 1837, securing trial by jury, was denied, the act being held illegal under the Prigg decision. Great indignation was aroused in Boston, and Latimer was finally released by his jailer on the payment of $400. The State Act of 1843 followed, forbidding officers to aid in the capture of fugitive slaves, or to permit the use of State jails for their imprisonment.
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Latitude is the distance of a place north or south from the equator, measured in degrees of the meridian.
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The law of statistical regularity is the basic assumption in statistics that a random sample taken from a larger group will reflect the characteristics of the larger group. The larger the size of the sample in relation to the whole group, the more accurately it will reflect the group.
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The Law Society is the professional body for solicitors in England and Wales, incorporated by royal charter in 1831. It controls the education and examination of articled clerks and the admission of solicitors. It also regulates their professional standards and conduct. It has over 40 000 members. Its College of Law provides courses for its examinations.
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The lawnmower was invented in 1830 by Englishman Edward Beard Buddings. His revolutionary concept was to place a curved rotating blades close behind a low-set fixed blade, thereby cutting one blade of grass at a time - if you try to cut multiple blades of grass together they bend instead of cut. The curved blade of the first lawnmower is still used in lawnmowers in the 21st century. Prior to the invention of the lawnmower, lawns were cut by skilled workmen, known as mowers, using scythes. This made lawn maintenance prohibitively expensive to all but the very rich. The invention of the lawnmower, however, set the scene for lawns to be enjoyed by all.
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Laws of Bretts and Scots was the name given in the 13th century to a code of laws in use among the Celtic tribes in Scotland, the Scots being the Celts north of the Forth and Clyde, and the Bretts being the remains of the British inhabitants of the kingdom of Cambria, Cumbria, or Strathclyde, and Reged. Edward I issued in 1305 an ordinance abolishing the usages of the Scots and Bretts. Only a fragment of them has been preserved.
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A lazaret is a hospital for the poor, especially for lepers.
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Le Temps is a French daily newspaper. It was established in Paris in 1861 by Auguste Nefftzer.
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A league was a measurement of distance, it was equivalent to roughly three miles or just under five kilometres.
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The League of Cambrai was a league formed in 1508 between Louis XII of France, the German Emperor Maximilian, and Ferdinand of Spain, for the purpose of humbling the Republic of Venice, and which was joined in 1509 by Pope Julius II.
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The Leamington stove was a form of kitchener or kitchen range exhibited at the Great Exhibition of 1851 where it won a first-class prize medal and was again exhibited in an improved version at the Dublin Exhibition of 1853. The Leamington Stove was a single fire stove with a hot plate large enough for several vessels to stand upon and be kept boiling; a very well ventilated and spacious wrought iron roaster with movable shelves, draw-out stand, double dripping-pan and meat-stand. The roaster could be converted into an oven by closing the valves, allowing bread and pastry to be baked. The Leamington Stove also had a large iron boiler with brass tap and steam pipe, round and square gridirons for cooking chops and steaks, ash pan, open fire for roasting and a set of ornamental covings with plate-warmer attached.
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Lebensraum was the theory of living space used by the Nazis to justify their annexation of neighbouring states on the grounds that Germany was overpopulated during the 1930s.
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Lecanomancy is divination from the observation of a bowl of water.
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The Lecompton Constitution was a Constitution adopted by the pro-slavery party of Kansas, United States, in a convention held at Lecompton on September the 5th, 1857. The Constitution sanctioned slavery, and prohibited the passage of emancipation laws by the Legislature. It was provided that the Constitution should not, as a whole, be submitted to the people of the territory; they were only to vote for 'the Constitution with slavery' or 'the Constitution without slavery'. Free-State settlers abstaining, the former alternative prevailed by a large majority. Later, without authorization from the convention, the Territorial Legislature ordered a vote on the Constitution as a whole. It was voted down by a large majority, slave-State settlers now abstaining.
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Leconomancy is divination from oil poured onto water.
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A lectern is a reading stand, used in churches for reading the lections or lessons from, and for supporting the massive service books from which the antiphones were sung, and also used in libraries. They were generally portable, of wood or brass, the commonest form being that of an eagle with outspread wings upon which the book was rested.
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The Legion of Honour is a French order of merit, created in 1802 by Napoleon, when first consul, with the view of specially marking exploits and services in the military and civil departments. Napoleon himself was first grand master.
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A lekythos is an oil jar with an ellipsoidal body, narrow neck, flanged mouth, a curved handle extending from below the lip to the shoulder and a narrow base terminated in a foot. They were chiefly used for ointments by the ancient Greeks and Romans.
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The Lenox Library is a library in New York City. It was collected by James Lenox, who at his death in 1880 left it, with funds for increase, to trustees for the benefit of American. scholarship.
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Lent was the Anglo-Saxon name for the month of March. The Saxon spring festival of the goddess Easter, which generally fell in March, was adopted by the Christian church and a period of thirty-six days of fasting entitled lent was adopted in the 4th century, and in 487 Felix III added four days to the fast to represent the biblical account of Jesus fasting for forty days in the wilderness.
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Leo is a sign of the zodiac represented by a lion.
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Lesbian is a term, first coined in the late 19th century, for female homosexuality. The term applies excessively to females, and as such male jokes about themselves being a lesbian because they find females sexually attractive, are actually rather ironic in that they question the perpetrator's sex!
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A lesbian rule was a mason's ruler made of lead which could be bent to measure curves.
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Letter-wood is the mottled brown heart-wood of the Trinidadian tree Brosimum Aubletii. It is used as a veneer.
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Lettre de Cachet was a name given especially to letters proceeding from and signed by the kings of France, and countersigned by a secretary of state. They were at first made use of occasionally as a means of delaying the course of justice, but they appear to have been rarely employed before the 17th century as warrants for the detention of private citizens, and for depriving them of their personal liberty. During the reign of Louis XIV their use became frightfully common, and by means of them persons were imprisoned for life or for a long period on the most frivolous pretexts. They were abolished at the French Revolution.
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The leveche is the hot, dry southerly wind of Spain, which comes from the moderately high lands of Africa. It is of the nature of the sirocco, the atmosphere being very dry and full of fine dust particles.
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A levee is an embankment along the course of a river. Natural levees are low banks that are produced by the river during floods, when the overflowing of the river decreases the speed of the water and permits the deposit of silt. Artificial levees are considerably higher than natural ones and are built in order to protect the surrounding countryside from floods, and as such levees are similar to the protective dikes in the Netherlands that prevent flooding by the sea. On a large river such as the Thames in England or the Mississippi in the USA, floods cannot be controlled by levees alone because the waters rise to heights that would overwhelm any embankment.
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The Lewis and Clark Expedition was an exploration conducted in 1804 to 1806 by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, under orders from President Jefferson. They ascended the Missouri to its sources, crossed the Rocky Mountains, struck the head waters of the Columbia River, floated down that river to its mouth and explored a great deal of the Oregon country. Their explorations covered nearly all the country south of the 49 degree parallel. Their company was composed of nine Kentuckians and fourteen soldiers. They started for the East on March the 23rd, 1806, having explored nearly the whole of the Northwest regions.
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The li was a Chinese unit of measurement equal to just over a third of an English mile.
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Libby Prison was a large building in Richmond, Virginia named after its owner, who used it as a ship-chandlery before the American Civil War. During the American Civil War it became famous as a Confederate military prison, in which many Federal soldiers were confined.
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The Liberal League was a political organisation founded in 1902 within the English Liberal party, but claiming for itself great liberty of speech and action. It was formed to promote the ideas set forth by Lord Rosebery in a speech at Chesterfield in December 1901, in which he called for efficiency and for a 'clean slate' particularly as regarded Home Rule.
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The Liberal Republican Party was an abortive offshoot from the regular American Republican party in 1870 to 1872. Its origin was a reaction from the coercive measures to maintain the newly-granted rights of the negroes and suppress the Ku Klux Klan organizations. A union of the Liberal Republicans and the Democrats was first formed with considerable success in Missouri in 1870 and 1871. They advocated universal suffrage, universal amnesty, a reform of the tariff and a cessation of the unconstitutional laws to cure Ku Klux Klan disorders. A general convention assembled at Cincinnati in May, 1872, and nominated Horace Greeley for President, whom the Democrats also nominated. He was defeated because many Democrats refused to vote for him. B Gratz Brown, of Missouri, was the candidate for Vice-President.
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The Liberty Bell was a bell cast in London and received at Philadelphia in August, 1752, when it was hung in the Pennsylvania State House, afterward known as Independence Hall. The bell was broken up and recast in April, and again in June, 1753. It announced the American Declaration of Independence on July the 4th, 1776. It was cracked on July the 8th, 1835, while being tolled in memory of Chief Justice Marshall. The bell was exhibited in the Pennsylvania State Building at the World's Columbian Exhibition at Chicago in 1893.
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Liberty Equality Fraternity was the motto of the French republic adopted at the time of the first revolution. The term 'equality' was meant not as equality of position, but equality for rich and poor alike in the eyes of the law.
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The Liberty Tree was the tree in America on which a Boston mob hanged the effigy of Andrew Oliver, of Boston, in August, 1765. Andrew Oliver had agreed to become distributor of stamps under the famous Stamp Act passed that year.
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Libra is a sign of the zodiac represented by a set of scales.
The libra was a Roman weight equivalent to one imperial pound.
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Lidford law is an old English proverbial expression, meaning to sentence a man first and try him afterwards. It is said to have arisen from the extremely summary procedure of a court held in the town of Lidford in Devon. The proverb runs: 'First hang and draw, Then hear the cause by Lidord law'.
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A life table is a way of summarising the probability that an individual will give birth or die during successive periods of life. From this, the proportion of individuals who survive from birth to any given age (survivorship) and the mean number of offspring produced (net reproductive rate) can be determined. Insurance companies use life tables to estimate risks of death so as to set their premiums and governments use them to determine future needs for education and health services.
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Ligan is a wreck consisting of goods sunk in the sea, but tied to a buoy so that they may be found again.
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Lilo And Stitch is a Disney animated film and animated television series for children about a lonely young Hawaiian girl who lives with her older sister, but has no parents, who adopts what she believes to be a puppy, but which is actually an escaped, four-armed 'evil experiment'. Through the girl's love and patience she alters the experiment 626's (the alien's) programming to be good, and between them, aided by two other aliens, they search for all the other escaped alien experiments and find appropriate homes for them, closely pursued by unpleasant alien Captain Gantu. Lilo and Stitch is a highly original, amusing comedy that appeals both to children and sentimental adults.
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Lincoln College is a college of Oxford University. It was founded by Richard Fleming in 1427 and completed by the Bishop of Lincoln in 1479.
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The link is a unit of the imperial scale of measurement of length equivalent to 7.92 inches.
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Linoleum (lino) is a tough floor covering which replaced oilcloth around the end of the 19th century on account of it being warmer. Linoleum is basically strong canvas coated with five or more layers of thick linseed-oil based paint and printed with a coloured design. The paint was originally comprised of cork dust and mineral colouring agents ground with oxidised linseed-oil to a stiff homogenous paste.
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Lithomancy is divination by the use of a magnet or stones.
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The Little Bear (Ursa Minor) is a constellation in the northern hemisphere which contains the pole-star. This constellation has seven stars placed together in a manner resembling those in the Great Bear.
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During 1811, and for some time previous, British cruisers hovering about the American coast had captured many American vessels bound for France, and had made a number of impressments. In May, 1811, Commodore John Rodgers, commanding the American frigate USS President, was ordered to put to sea from Chesapeake Bay and protect American commerce. When thirty miles off Cape Charles, on May the 16th, Rodgers descried a vessel, which he supposed to be the British man-of-war HMS Guerriere. He decided to approach her and make inquiries regarding impressment.
This vessel was HMS Little Belt, a small British frigate. She allegedly showed no colours and sailed away, the USS President pursuing. Overhauling her at about eight o'clock, Rodgers declared she ran up colours which could not be recognized for the darkness, and fired upon the USS President. The fire was immediately returned and HMS Little Belt was disabled in about eighteen minutes. The dispute as to which ship was in fault was never settled. When Foster, the British Minister arrived, however, it was mutually agreed to drop the affair.
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In geography, the littoral is the seashore, the land along the coast, or the land lying between the levels of high and low tide.
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Lizzie McGuire was a situation comedy television series that ran from 2001 until 2004 about the daily life of a thirteen year old American girl, Lizzie McGuire (played by Hilary Duff), and her family and friends. The series started with the main character buying her first bra and followed her as she grew up and left school.
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The load was a British measure which when applied to bricks was equal to 500 bricks; applied to earth and gravel equal to a cubic yard; applied to hay and straw equal to 36 trusses; applied to lime equal to 32 bushels.
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In the early days of America, during the 19th century, the Local Option was the determination by the people of a town or other minor political community as to whether or not any licenses to sell intoxicating liquors should be granted. This principle was established in many sections of
the various States.
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Loch is a Scottish term applied to both lakes and inlets.
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The Loco-foco was the radical faction of the American Democratic party between 1835 and 1837. The faction was properly of New York, though the name was afterward made national. During the Federalist control of the Government, the method of granting bank charters and controlling banks was charged by the opposing faction with favouritism and corruption. Upon their gaining control, things did not, in the opinion of many, improve; and in 1835 there was formed in New York the Equal Rights party, opposed to special privileges in granting bank charters to corporations. At a meeting in Tammany Hall, on October 29th 1835, the regular Tammany Democrats tried to gain control. Finding themselves outnumbered, they turned out the lights and retired. The Equal Rights men produced candles and loco-foco matches, and continued the meeting. Hence the name. This party was beaten at the elections, but nevertheless exercised considerable influence.
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Locomotion is the idea of movement from one place to another.
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In the American political campaign of 1840 the Whig candidate, Harrison, was a military man of plain manners. One of the Democratic papers, scoffing at the Whigs for taking a candidate not of the first calibre, advised that Harrison be given a log cabin and a barrel of hard cider, and he would stay contentedly in Ohio. This was taken up by the Whigs as a slogan, and really helped to make their candidate popular with the masses. Log cabins were erected in great numbers in the cities, and were carried in processions, accompanied with barrels of cider.
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Logwood is the timber of the Central American tree campeachy. Logwood is yellow, but turns red when exposed to the air and is used to supply a dark red and black coloured dye.
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Long Friday was the Saxon name for the festival now called Good Friday.
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A long hundredweight was an avoirdupois measure of weight containing 180 lbs.
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The meeting of the Long Parliament (as it was afterwards called) in November 1640 ended the great days of the English monarchy, and sowed the seeds for the English Civil War. The Commons were determined on reform; they meant to put an end to the king's unconstitutional methods in both Church and State. Charles I himself, though he seldom faced facts, saw that some concessions would be necessary. But a real settlement was not achieved, chiefly because tempers were rising and the atmosphere soon became that of a revolution. Charles was partly to blame. He had no real desire for a lasting understanding with Parliament, and his shifty character aroused general distrust. But he found that the more he gave way to Parliament, the more it demanded. John Pym, a squire of Somerset, was the acknowledged leader of the Commons.
His enemies nicknamed him 'King Pym'. He was 'the first great popular organiser', for he used the press, the petition, and even the platform to support his cause. He now led the attack on the chief instruments of the late personal government. The judges who had upheld Charles's financial exactions in the Courts were arrested and imprisoned, and so was Archbishop Laud, who was beheaded in 1645. But the principal victim was Strafford. He was charged with having tried to 'subvert the fundamental laws and government of England and Ireland, and instead thereof to introduce an in March arbitrary and tyrannical government against law'. 1641 he was brought to Westminster Hall to be tried for high treason. But his accusers were at once faced with a difficult point. Strafford may have tried to 'subvert the laws'; but treason meant treason to the king, and had Strafford been a traitor to Charles? It was difficult to prove that he had, and as the trial proceeded it became clear that the verdict would be Not Guilty. But the Puritan majority in the House was determined that Strafford should die. Parliament therefore passed a special Bill of Attainder, condemning the minister to death without trial.
The Lords passed the Bill of Attainder, and it remained for the king to give or to withhold his consent. Some may think that it was Charles's duty to risk his life to defend Strafford. But the mob raged round Whitehall, howling for blood. Charles feared for the safety of the queen and his children, and he gave way. ' If my own person only were in danger', he told the Council, with tears in his eyes, 'I would gladly venture it to save Lord Strafford's life.' Three days later the earl was led to his execution in May 1641 in the presence of a crowd of 200000 people who had come to witness the end of 'Black Tom Tyrant'. No man ever died more bravely. 'I thank my God', he said, as he prepared to die, 'I am not afraid of death, but do as cheerfully put off my doublet at this time as ever I did when I went to bed.' The executioner offered to cover his eyes with a handkerchief. 'Thou shalt not bind my eyes.' said Strafford, 'for I will see it done.' And so he placed his head upon the block.
His misfortune, wrote Laud, was that 'he served a mild and gracious prince, who knew not how to be, or be made great'. That summer Parliament was busy passing a number of Acts intended to make absolute government impossible for the future. One Act declared that the present Parliament could not be dissolved without its own consent; another - the Triennial Act - that in future Parliaments should be Called every three years. The three Courts by which the king and Laud had carried out their religious and financial measures were abolished - the Star Chamber, the Court of High Commission, and the Council of the North. Finally Ship-Money and other arbitrary forms of taxation were declared illegal. These abolitions of the year 1641 were the permanent, constructive work of the Puritan revolution; nor were the institutions then destroyed restored with the monarchy in 1660. Meanwhile another Bill had come up for discussion. A petition was presented to Parliament praying for the ending of episcopacy (that is, the rule of the Church by bishops) 'in all its roots and branches'.
The thorough-going Puritan members considered the petition, and a 'Root-and-Branch' Bill in 1641 was prepared, but it fell through. For now a new factor came into play. Hitherto a large majority, both of Lords and Commons, had been united in their opposition to the king. But this Bill divided parliamentarians for the first time. There were many who began to fear extremes; and a moderate party now sprang up. It was out of this debate on the Root-and- Branch Bill that the germs of the future Roundhead and Cavalier parties were formed. The extremists - the Roundheads - included Pym, Hampden, and Oliver Cromwell. The chief figures on the other side were Lord Falkland and Sir Edward Hyde, afterwards the famous Earl of Clarendon, the future Chancellor and historian. Parliament adjourned for six months, but met again at the end of October. It had no sooner assembled than terrible news arrived from Ireland. Now that the stern hand of Strafford was withdrawn, the crushed Irish had risen against their lords. There was a sudden and horrible rebellion thousands of Protestants were massacred in cold blood. When this news was received in London it only served to increase the Puritan fury. Meanwhile the Commons drew up a Grand Remonstrance in November 1641, in which they recited the past acts of the king and his servants to which they objected - there were 201 items - and stated a programme for the future. Some of its clauses prayed the king to reduce the power of the bishops and to remove 'oppressions in religion'. Another clause asked His Majesty to employ ministers 'such as the Parliament may have cause to confide in' - which in later times solved the problem of disputes between king and Parliament.
All this shows that Parliament had considerably advanced its demands. During the months from November 1640 to September 1641 they, had succeeded in placing constitutional checks on the king's power. From November 1641 to August 1642 they were bent on seizing control of both Church and State, until they forced Charles to reply: ' If I granted your demands, I should be no more than the mere phantom of a king.' The Grand Remonstrance was passed by a majority of only eleven - a fact which illustrates the growth of the anti-Puritan party.
The situation, at the end of 1641, was dangerous in the extreme. On the one hand the queen and the swaggering ' Cavaliers' of the Court were urging Charles to strike at King Pym and his fellow leaders before it was too late. On the other hand, London was a stronghold of Puritanism, and it was the London merchants who had felt the weight of Charles's taxation most heavily. The London ' prentices' and the king's swordsmen were itching to get at one another's throats. Never the less Pym proceeded steadily on his way. He was determined to deprive the king of the command of the militia; for it was obvious that if the Irish rebellion was to be crushed a militia must be called out. And once Charles had command of the national armed forces, would he not use them to crush Parliament and destroy English liberty for ever? Pym had no doubt that he would. A Militia Bill was therefore brought in, and - contrary to all English law and custom - it took the command of the military forces out of the king's hands. To this Charles of course refused his consent.
Early in January 1642 he took the queen's advice, and instructed the Attorney- General to impeach Pym, Hampden, and three other leading members of the Commons. The members were alarmed, but Charles promised them 'on the word of a king' that no violence should be done them. The next day - the 4th of January 1642 - he went down to the House with 400 swordsmen. He left his guard at the door, and walked in accompanied only by Prince Rupert, his German nephew. But the five members, warned of his intention, had fled by river. There was a dead silence as the king looked round. He asked the Speaker, Lenthall, where the missing members were. 'I have neither eyes to see', Lenthall replied, 'nor tongue to speak in this place, but as this House shall direct me.' There was another pause as Charles scanned the benches. 'I see', he said at last, 'all the birds are flown. I do expect you will send them to me as soon as they shall return hither.' Then, amid cries of 'Privilege, privilege', he walked out. By this revolutionary act the king had outlawed himself. All hope of reconciliation being now past, he determined to try the issue of war. He left his capital on the 10th of January, sent the queen out of the country, and took up his quarters at York. Parliament claimed the control of the militia and secured the command of the fleet. During the spring and summer of 1642 both sides were busy raising troops. The great strength of the Puritan cause was London. The city contained a tenth of the population of England - 500000 out of five million. The number of troops which London provided was more than sufficient to quell any Royalist opposition in the surrounding country. The London 'train-bands' therefore protected the Puritan leaders during the eight months that the king was gathering his army in the north - January to August 1642. And so the English Civil War started.
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Long-line fishing is a commercial method of fishing using a line fitted with many hooks. Bottom long- lines are used to catch demersal fish such as cod, haddock, hake, halibut, and sea bream. They consist of a heavy, weighted line, about 90 m long, with short sidelines to which baited hooks are attached at intervals. Drifting long-lines are used for large fish, in particular tuna and albacore. They consist of about 400 sections, each of which is up to 400 m long. The whole assembly is supported by floats and can carry as many as 2,500 baited hooks. Long-lines (some using automated systems) are set and retrieved from one vessel in the duration of a day.
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Longitude is the distance of a place east or west of a given meridian.
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Longshore drift is the gradual movement of beach materials such as sand and shingle along a shore. This process is the result of waves breaking at an angle on to a beach: driven by obliquely breaking waves, a thin layer of turbulent water known as the swash moves diagonally up the beach, carrying sand and shingle landward and depositing them when it runs out of energy. Some of this material is then carried back down into the breaker zone by the returning backwash. The net effect is that material is moved in small steps sideways along the beach, a process which may be aided by longshore currents.
Longshore drift may result in extensive beach erosion, the material removed being ultimately redeposited further down the coast. In some seaside areas attempts have been made to stop such erosion by erecting groynes, man-made barriers which extend down the beach and into the sea, and behind which sand and shingle moving along the shoreline are trapped.
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A loofah or luffa is the fibrous skeleton of the cylindrical fruit of the dishcloth gourd (Luffa cylindrica). It is used as a bath sponge.
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A loom is an apparatus for weaving yarn into a textile by the crossing of vertical (warp) and horizontal (weft) threads.
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In Scottish history, the Lords of the articles were a committee chosen equally from each estate or division of parliament to prepare the various measures, which when completed were laid before the parliament for adoption or rejection. They were first appointed in 1369, and gradually became a recognized part of the Scottish legislative machinery. They were abolished in 1690.
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Lost In Space was an American science-fiction television series created by Iwin Allen about a space colony family (the Robinsons) struggling to survive after a stowaway saboteur throws their ship hopelessly off course. Lost In Space starred Guy Williams, June Lockhart, Mark Goddard, Marta Kristen, Bill Mumy, Angela Cartwright and Jonathan Harris as 'Doctor Smith'. Lost In Space ran from 1965 to 1968, with 83 episodes being made.
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Lotus was a motorcar company founded in 1952 by Colin Chapman, who built his first racing car in 1948, and also developed high-powered production saloon and innovative sports cars, such as the Lotus-Cortina and Lotus Elan. Lotus has been one of the leading Grand Prix manufacturers since they entered Formula One 1960. Jim Clark, twice world champion, had all his Grand Prix wins in a Lotus. The last Lotus world champion was Mario Andretti in 1978. After Colin Chapman's death, the company won some Grand Prix with Ayrton Senna. Without Chapman's innovative direction, the team never regained its momentum, and after a series of management changes the directors Peter Collins and Peter Wright made heroic efforts to keep the team going until the end of the 1994 season, when underfunding and debts forced it into administratorship. David Hunt, brother of James Hunt, bought the company from the administrator and tried, unsuccessfully, to find sponsors to enable Lotus to continue and develop a new race car. In January 1995 a world famous name in motor racing ceased to exist.
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The Lotus Elan was a British sports car first sold in 1962 both as a ready-built vehicle and in self-assembly kit form. Various models of Lotus Elan were produced between 1962 and 1973, with an in-line four twin-cam engine providing a top speed of about 116 mph. The Lotus Elan was renowned fior its fast acceleration, balance, reliability and good handling abilities.
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The Lotus Exige is a British two-door, rear-wheel drive sports car powered by a transverse, mid-mounted in-line four-cylinder, 1796 cc engine and a six-speed manual transmission providing acceleration of 0 to 60 mph in 4.1 seconds and a top speed of 148 mph with a fuel consumption ranging between 23 and 39 mpg depending upon the environment. Typical of Lotus sports car, the handling is excellent, with independent double wishbone with coil springs over monotube dampers suspension, making the Exige capable of steering at speed through sharp corners where other vehicles career off the road.
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Lough is an Irish term applied to both lakes and inlets.
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Louisiana vs Jumel was an important case before the US Supreme Court, decided in 1882. The plaintiffs, holding bonds issued under the act of the Louisiana Legislature of 1874, known as Act No. 3, demanded payment of these bonds in 1880. Payment was refused in obedience to Article 3 of the Louisiana State Debt Act of 1880, carrying out provisions contained in the new Constitution of that State. This article recited that coupons of consolidated bonds falling due in January, 1880, were remitted. Suit was brought against officers of the State. The Circuit Court of Louisiana decided for the defendant, and its decision was confirmed by the Supreme Court of the United States on the ground that relief could not be awarded against officers obeying the supreme power of the State; that the money is the State's property, not held in trust by the officers, except in the capacity of her servants.
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A loy is a long, narrow spade used for cultivating stony lands.
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The Loyal Order of Moose is a fraternal organisation founded in 1888 at Louisville, Kentucky, by John Henry Wilson. The first lodge was established in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Supreme Lodge, headquartered in Mooseheart, Illinois, co-ordinates the activities of the lodges and chapters in the USA and Canada. Two major philanthropic projects of the Moose are Mooseheart, a home and school for dependent children of deceased members, and Moosehaven in Orange Park, Florida, a home for aged members and their spouses. Moose lodges and chapters are also involved in local civic projects.
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The Luddite riots were a series of outbreaks in which popular discontent expressed itself in the Midlands between 1811 and 1818. General distress being caused by the progress of the industrial revolution, the anger of the rioters was directed against the new machinery, much of which was destroyed. The name Luddite derives from Ned Lud, a man (supposedly an imbecile though some say he was insane) from Leicestershire who in a fit of passion demolished two stocking-frames around 1779.
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Ludolph's number, named after Ludolph van Ceulen, is the value of pi to 35 decimal places, as calculated by the Dutch mathematician Ludolph van Ceulen.
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Lug is an old Scottish word, also used in the North of England for the ear. From this original meaning evolved the various other meanings for lug, hence the verb to lug originally meant to pull by the ear, and later became a term meaning to pull or carry something with great effort. The term also was applied to a projection resembling an ear, and this evolved into any small projection from an object by which an object can be carried or fixed in place.
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Lustre refers to the degree to which a surface reflects light. That is how shiny or glossy a surface is.
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Luther vs Borden was a celebrated legal case in the US Supreme Court. In 1842 Luther, of Massachusetts, brought action of trespass in the Circuit Court of Rhode Island against Borden for entering his house by force.
In 1841 a portion of the people of Rhode Island had framed a new Constitution and elected Thomas W Dorr Governor in opposition to the charter government. That government, King being the executive, declared the State under martial law, and Luther's house was searched, he being implicated in the armed conspiracy against the constitutional government. Luther pleaded the constitutionality of the new government, but the Circuit Court found judgment against him and this the Supreme Court of the United States confirmed, 1842. But it was decided that the question of the constitutionality of a State government lay rather with Congress than the judicial courts. Also it was decided that under martial law suspected persons might be legally arrested by State authority.
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Lynch law (lynching) is a term describing the rough-and-ready administration of justice by a mob in cases where the law is inadequate or dilatory (nowadays popularly meaning the execution of a supposed criminal). The term originates from the practice of Charles Lynch, a farmer in Virginia, USA who during the later part of the 18th century supported revolutionary principles in the district where he lived by catching Tories and other loyalists, whom he then hanged by their thumbs until they cried out 'Liberty for All' but were never killed. In later years the term was applied to summary executions without trial and usually by mob violence. It was practiced largely in the West and South of the USA and during the late 19th century lynch-law executions in the United States at large, were about twice as numerous as legal executions.
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Lynx is a small constellation north of Gemini, formed by Hevelius in 1690.
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Lyra is an ancient constellation, situated on the borders of the Milky Way, near Cygnus. Its primitive association with an eagle or vulture survives in the name Vega, its largest star.
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