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English civil war

(Encyclopedia)English civil war, 1642–48, the conflict between King Charles I of England and a large body of his subjects, generally called the “parliamentarians,” that culminated in the defeat and execution ...

Simon's Town

(Encyclopedia)Simon's Town or Simonstown sīˈmənztoun [key], town, now part of City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality, Western Cape prov., SW South Africa, on False Bay, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean. It is a...

Jenkins's Ear, War of

(Encyclopedia)Jenkins's Ear, War of, 1739–41, struggle between England and Spain. It grew out of the commercial rivalry of the two powers and led to involvement in the larger War of the Austrian Succession. The i...

Nablus

(Encyclopedia)Nablus năˈbləs, näˈ– [key], Heb. Shechem, city (2003 est. pop. 127,000), the West Bank. It is the market center for a region where wheat and olives are grown and sheep and goats are grazed. Man...

Sino-Japanese War, Second

(Encyclopedia)Sino-Japanese War, Second, 1937–45, conflict between Japanese and Chinese forces for control of the Chinese mainland. The war sapped the Nationalist government's strength while allowing the Communis...

Rabin, Yitzhak

(Encyclopedia)Rabin, Yitzhak yĭtskhäkˈ räbēnˈ [key], 1922–95, Israeli general and statesman, b. Jerusalem, the first native-born prime minister of Israel (1974–77, 1992–95). His extensive military exper...

Office of War Information

(Encyclopedia)Office of War Information (OWI), U.S. agency created (1942) during World War II to consolidate government information services. The OWI absorbed the functions of the Office of Facts and Figures, the O...

Hussein I

(Encyclopedia)Hussein I ho͝osānˈ, –īnˈ [key], 1935–99, king of Jordan; educated in England at Harrow and Sandhurst. He ascended the throne (1953) after his grandfather Abdullah I had been killed (1951) by ...

Sharett, Moshe

(Encyclopedia)Sharett, Moshe mōˈshə shərĕtˈ [key], 1894–1965, Israeli statesman, b. Russia, originally named Shertok. In 1906 he emigrated to Palestine where he was active in the labor movement. In 1933 he ...

Civil War, in U.S. history

(Encyclopedia)Civil War, in U.S. history, conflict (1861–65) between the Northern states (the Union) and the Southern states that seceded from the Union and formed the Confederacy. It is generally known in the So...