Memorial Day, holiday in the United States observed in late May. Previously designated Decoration Day, it was inaugurated in 1868 by Gen. John A. Logan for the purpose of decorating the graves...

Holiday [altered from holy day], day set aside for the commemoration of an important event. Holidays are often accompanied by public ceremonies, such as parades and carnivals, and by religious...

Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), organization established by Civil War veterans of the Union army and navy. Principal figures in the founding of the GAR were John A. Logan and Richard J. Ogle...

Oudinot, Nicolas Charles, 1767–1847, French soldier. A veteran of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, he was created marshal of France (1809) and duke of Reggio (1810) by Napoleon I....

Logan, John Alexander, 1826–86, American politician, Union general in the Civil War, b. Murphysboro, Ill. He fought in the Mexican War and practiced law in Illinois. A Democrat who supported S...

Poppy, common name for some members of the Papaveraceae, a family composed chiefly of herbs of the Northern Hemisphere having a characteristic milky or colored sap. Most species are native to ...

Bolívar, Simón, 1783–1830, South American revolutionary who led independence wars in the present nations of Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. Born of a wealthy creole fa...

Hitler, Adolf, 1889–1945, founder and leader of National Socialism (Nazism), and German dictator, b. Braunau in Upper Austria. The son of Alois Hitler (1837–1903), an Austrian customs official...

Caesar, Julius (Caius Julius Caesar), 100? B.C.–44 B.C., Roman statesman and general. Although he was born into the Julian gens, one of the oldest patrician families in Rome, Caesar was always...

Insurance or assurance, device for indemnifying or guaranteeing an individual against loss. Reimbursement is made from a fund to which many individuals exposed to the same risk have contribute...