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Somoza, Anastasio

(Encyclopedia)Somoza, Anastasio änästäˈsyō sōmōˈsä [key], 1896–1956, president of Nicaragua (1937–47, 1950–56). After the end (1933) of U.S. military intervention in Nicaragua, he rose to power as he...

Siles Zuazo, Hernán

(Encyclopedia)Siles Zuazo, Hernán ārnänˈ sēˈlās swäˈsō [key], 1914–96, president of Bolivia (1956–60, 1982–85). The illegitimate son of Hernando Siles Reyes (president of Bolivia, 1926–30) and an ...

Vergennes, Charles Gravier, comte de

(Encyclopedia)Vergennes, Charles Gravier, comte de shärl grävyāˈ kôNt də vĕrzhĕnˈ [key], 1717–87, French statesman. After serving as ambassador at Trier, Constantinople, and Stockholm (where in 1772 he p...

Côte d'Ivoire

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Côte d'Ivoire kōt dēvwärˈ [key] or Ivory Coast, officially Republic of Côte d'Iv...

Davis, Bette

(Encyclopedia)Davis, Bette bĕtˈē [key], 1908–89, American film actress, b. Lowell, Mass., as Ruth Elizabeth Davis. One of the most durable stars of the American screen, she made her debut in 1931. With a strik...

month

(Encyclopedia)month, in chronology, the conventional period of a lunation, i.e., passage of the moon through all its phases. It is usually computed at approximately 29 or 30 days. For the computation of the month a...

Liebknecht, Wilhelm

(Encyclopedia)Liebknecht, Wilhelm lēpˈkənĕkht [key], 1826–1900, German socialist leader and journalist. His participation in the revolution in Germany in 1848–49 forced him into exile, and he lived in Engl...

Helms, Richard McGarrah

(Encyclopedia)Helms, Richard McGarrah, 1913–2002, U.S. government official, b. St. Davids, Pa. In 1942, Helms joined the U.S. navy where he engaged in intelligence work for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS)....

Gottwald, Klement

(Encyclopedia)Gottwald, Klement klāməntˈ gôtˈvält [key], 1896–1953, Czechoslovak Communist leader, b. Moravia. After World War I he helped found the Czechoslovak Communist party and served on the party's ce...

Abiola, Moshood Kashimawo Olawale

(Encyclopedia)Abiola, Moshood Kashimawo Olawale, 1937–1998, Nigerian businessman and politician. A Yoruba from the southwest, he trained as an accountant at Glasgow Univ. Abiola joined the ITT Corporation (1968),...