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What was Marco Polo's education?

When his father and uncle made a second trip to China in 1271, Marco went with them. He experienced cultures and learned skills from his father and uncle during the 23-year trip. He wrote a book about his travels, called "The Travels of Marco Polo." This book inspired adventurers throughout history, including Christopher Columbus.

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What year did Thomas Edison invent the light bulb?

To make safer electric lights comfortable to use inside the home, Edison needed to find a pleasant light with a long-burning filament. He experimented with everything from coconut fibers to human hair, finally hitting on carbonized bamboo as the ideal centerpiece for his new bulb. The first successful large-scale test of Edison's bulb was in October 1882, when 25 buildings in the New York City financial district were lit with electric light bulbs.\nWhile electric lighting already existed during Edison's time, they were arc lights, too bright to be comfortable indoors and impractical ..

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Who was president after John Fitzgerald Kennedy?

Lyndon Johnson was originally one of Kennedy's rivals. They competed for the Democratic nomination for president in 1960. Kennedy won a number of primaries, getting the people's support, but Johnson lined up support from the establishment without ever participating in a primary election. Kennedy won the nomination and took Johnson as his running mate to placate the more conservative Southern wing of the Democratic Party. Kennedy's presidency was short. After Kennedy was gunned down on Nov. 22, 1963, Johnson was sworn into office. According to Biography, Johnson's presidenti..

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What Indian tribes were included in the Five Nations?

The Iroquois Confederacy dates back to at least the 15th century, and was formed by Deganawida "The Peacemaker" as a way to keep the five original nations from warring against one another by providing structures for discussion and conflict resolution between the tribes. Another goal of the confederacy was to shelter those in need, accepting the lost and displaced peoples that found themselves in the region due to the expansion of European colonization.\nThe Iroquois Confederacy eventually fell during the Revolutionary War. The proximity of the tribes to the conflict between the British and the..

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What were the main causes of the Russian Revolution?

Although in theory Russian peasants in the early 20th century owned their own land, they were deeply in debt and barely surviving with antiquated, subsistence-level agricultural techniques and equipment. Many moved to the cities to find work in the burgeoning factories, but they were met with poor living conditions, low wages and no rights as workers. The Tsar, trying to govern a huge country alone, ignored the Duma, the Russian parliament, as well as the pleas of the peasants and the proletariat, choosing to crush their opposition rather than consider their grievances. This left the poor open..

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Why did Lincoln veto the Wade-Davis Bill?

Through the pocket veto, Abraham Lincoln vetoed the bill that both the House of Representatives and the Senate passed. President Lincoln was in favor of a more lenient path for the Southern States, and he favored the 10 Percent Plan that he conceived during the war. Part of the plan stipulated that 10 percent of voters from the seceded states swear an oath of loyalty to the Union. It also pardoned Confederates who took part in the war.

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Did Einstein believe in God?

Though Einstein rejected religion, he also rejected the certainty of atheism. He emphasized humility with respect to the limits of human understanding, a point of view that may seem as ironic considering that he is considered one of the greatest thinkers in human history.\n\nAs a child, Einstein may have had religious beliefs, but he lost these with time. In his autobiography, he notes that scientific thinking largely drew him away from religion, with scientific understanding making Biblical stories seem entirely implausible.

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Where were the concentration camps in America?

President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942 in reaction to the attack on Pearl Harbor. The order stated that Japanese citizens and those of Japanese ancestry living on the west coast of the United States would be relocated to internment camps further inland. Approximately 120,000 people were held in the internment camps. Many of the prisoners were not Japanese citizens, but Nissei, or American-born citizens of Japanese descent.\nTen camps were opened in total. They included Tule Lake and Manzanar in California, Minidoka in Idaho, Granada in Colorado and Hea..

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Where can you find Civil War records?

The National Park Service website offers a fascinating glimpse into the records of Civil War servicemen from both the Union and Confederacy states. Their searchable database, known as the Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, is designed to help people find records of their ancestors who fought in the Civil War. It is also meant to be a tool to help today's generation better understand this dark era in the history of the United States of America.\nIn addition to the National Park Service database, genealogy websites such as Family Search and Genealogy often include records of Civil War s..

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Which country did Henry Hudson sail for?

Henry Hudson was born in 1565 and died in 1611. He was a prominent explorer of his time and worked with the Dutch East India Company in 1609. This voyage was when he made it to the Americas for the first time and found what is now known as the Hudson River.

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