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Zeman, Miloš

(Encyclopedia)Zeman, Miloš mēˈlōsh zĕˈmän [key], 1944–, Czech economist and political leader, president of the Czech Republic (2013–). He joined (1968) the Communist party during the Prague Spring and be...

cesarean section

(Encyclopedia)cesarean section sĭzârˈēən [key], delivery of an infant by surgical removal from the uterus through an abdominal incision. The operation is of ancient origin: indeed, the name derives from the le...

Bourmont, Louis Auguste, comte de Ghaisnes de

(Encyclopedia)Bourmont, Louis Auguste, comte de Ghaisnes de lwē ôgüstˈ kôNt də gân də bo͞ormôNˈ [key], 1773–1846, marshal of France. An émigré, he fought against the French Revolution under the princ...

occultation

(Encyclopedia)occultation ŏkˌəltāˈshən [key], in astronomy, eclipse of one celestial body by another, e.g., when the moon lies between a star and the earth. Occultations of stars by the moon are important in ...

Arthur, Owen Seymour

(Encyclopedia)Arthur, Owen Seymour, 1949–2020, Barbadian political leader. An economist, he worked for the Jamaican national planning agency in the 1970s and the Barbados ministry of finance and planning in the 1...

Lakshmi Bai

(Encyclopedia)Lakshmi Bai or Laxmibai, c.1828–58, maharani of Jhansi. Born into a Brahmin family of Benares (now Varanasi) and named Manakarnika, she had an unconventional childhood, receiving an education and ma...

Saavedra Lamas, Carlos

(Encyclopedia)Saavedra Lamas, Carlos kärˈlōs sävāˈᵺrä läˈmäs [key], 1880–1959, Argentine statesman, foreign minister (1932–38). An advocate of Pan-Americanism and of the League of Nations (he was pr...

Saint Elmo's fire

(Encyclopedia)Saint Elmo's fire, luminous discharge of electricity extending into the atmosphere from some projecting or elevated object. It is usually observed (often during a snowstorm or a dust storm) as brushli...

Naumburg

(Encyclopedia)Naumburg än dər zäˈlə [key], city (1994 pop. 29,846), Saxony-Anhalt, E central Germany, on the Saale River. Manufactures of this industrial city include machine tools, processed food, textiles, a...

Bedford, town, England

(Encyclopedia)Bedford, town and borough, central England, on the Ouse River. It is an important industrial center; diesel engines, pumps, turbines, agricultural machi...