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Federal Bureau of Investigation

(Encyclopedia)Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), division of the U.S. Dept. of Justice charged with investigating all violations of federal laws except those assigned to some other federal agency. The FBI has j...

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

(Encyclopedia)Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), an independent U.S. federal executive agency designed to promote public confidence in banks and to provide insurance coverage for bank deposits up to $250...

Federal Hall National Memorial

(Encyclopedia)Federal Hall National Memorial: see National Parks and Monuments (table)national parks and monuments (table). ...

Federal National Mortgage Association

(Encyclopedia)Federal National Mortgage Association (FMNA), commonly known as Fannie Mae, government-sponsored enterprise that is the largest purchaser and guarantor of home mortgages in the country. Headquartered ...

European Free Trade Association

(Encyclopedia)European Free Trade Association (EFTA), customs union and trading bloc; its current members are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. EFTA was established in 1960 by Austria, Denmark, Great...

Norton, Eleanor Holmes

(Encyclopedia)Norton, Eleanor Holmes, 1937–, African-American lawyer and government official. As an attorney (1965–70) for the American Civil Liberties Union, she specialized in First Amendment cases. She later...

Hoover, Herbert Clark

(Encyclopedia)Hoover, Herbert Clark, 1874–1964, 31st President of the United States (1929–33), b. West Branch, Iowa. Except for major speeches before the Republican conventions and a 1938 European tour, Hoove...

Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation

(Encyclopedia)Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, commonly known as Freddie Mac, government-sponsored enterprise that uses private capital to buy home mortgages as a means to help lower housing costs. A sister ...

Swiss Federal Institute of Technology

(Encyclopedia)Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, at Zürich, founded 1855 as the Federal Polytechnic Institute, given its current name 1911. It is a science and technology research university with a solid reput...

safety movement

(Encyclopedia)safety movement, widespread effort to prevent accidents that followed the increasing number of casualties in industry, traffic and transportation, and homes arising out of the Industrial Revolution an...