(Encyclopedia) GyanendraGyanendragyänĕnˈdrə [key], 1947–, last king of Nepal (2001–8). Second son of King Mahendra (r. 1955–72) and brother of King Birendra (r. 1972–2001), Gyanendra was a…
(Encyclopedia) SolferinoSolferinosōlfārēˈnō [key], village, Lombardy, N Italy, near Mantua. There, on June 24, 1859, the French and Sardinians fought a bloody battle with the Austrians (see…
(Encyclopedia) Warsaw Treaty Organization or Warsaw Pact, alliance set up under a mutual defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, in 1955 by Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary,…
(Encyclopedia) Watie, StandWatie, Standwätˈē [key], 1806–71, Native American leader and Confederate general, b. near Rome, Ga., as Degataga Oowatie. Of mixed white and Cherokee descent, he favored…
(Encyclopedia) Cavaignac, Louis EugèneCavaignac, Louis Eugènelwē özhĕnˈ kävānyäkˈ [key], 1802–57, French general. He participated in the French conquest of Algeria and was promoted to general in 1844…
(Encyclopedia) North Africa, campaigns in, series of military contests for control of North Africa during World War II. The desert war started in 1940 and for more than two years thereafter seesawed…
(Encyclopedia) Robespierre, Maximilien Marie IsidoreRobespierre, Maximilien Marie IsidoremäksēmēlyăNˈ märēˈ ēzēdôrˈ rôbĕspyĕrˈ [key], 1758–94, one of the leading figures of the French Revolution…
(Encyclopedia) Arab-Israeli Wars, conflicts in 1948–49, 1956, 1967, 1973–74, and 1982 between Israel and the Arab states. Tensions between Israel and the Arabs have been complicated and heightened by…
(Encyclopedia) Leo III, Saint, pope (795–816), a Roman; successor of Adrian I. He was attacked about the face and eyes by members of Adrian's family, who hoped to render him unfit for the papacy. Leo…
(Encyclopedia) LibraLibralēˈbrə, līˈ– [key] [Lat.,=the scales], southern constellation lying on the ecliptic (the sun's apparent path through the heavens) between Virgo and Scorpius; it is one of the…
