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European Council

(Encyclopedia)European Council, institution of the European Union (EU) responsible for defining the EU's general political direction and priorities. It is composed of an elected president (who serves a two-and-a-ha...

Ewing, William Maurice

(Encyclopedia)Ewing, William Maurice, 1906–74, American oceanographer and geologist, b. Lackney, Tex., grad. Rice Institute, now Rice Univ. (B.S., 1926; M.A., 1927; Ph.D., 1931). He taught physics and geology at ...

Scripps, Edward Wyllis

(Encyclopedia)Scripps, Edward Wyllis, 1854–1926, American newspaper publisher, b. Rushville, Ill. He began (1873) his career on the staff of the Detroit Evening News, a paper founded and edited by his half-brothe...

Paris, University of

(Encyclopedia)Paris, University of, at Paris, France; founded 12th cent., confirmed 1215 by papal bull. The most famous of its colleges was the Sorbonne, which opened in 1253 and gained academic and theological dis...

Bank for International Settlements

(Encyclopedia)Bank for International Settlements (BIS), international financial institution est. (1930) in Basel, Switzerland, by bankers and diplomats from Europe, the United States, and Japan. It was originally s...

Ramallah

(Encyclopedia)Ramallah rämäˈlä [key], city (2007 pop. 27,4000), in the West Bank, N of Jerusalem. The administrative center for the Palestinian Authority, it lies in a fertile farming region where olives, figs,...

Bush, Vannevar

(Encyclopedia)Bush, Vannevar vănˈəvər [key], 1890–1974, American electrical engineer and physicist, b. Everett, Mass., grad. Tufts College (B.S., 1913). He went to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) ...

Hershey, Alfred Day

(Encyclopedia)Hershey, Alfred Day, 1908–1997, American microbiologist, b. Owosso, Mich., Ph.D., Michigan State College (now Michigan State Univ.), 1934. Hershey was a professor at the Washington Univ. School of M...

coeducation

(Encyclopedia)coeducation, instruction of both sexes in the same institution. The economic benefits gained from joint classes and the need to secure equality for women in industrial, professional, and political act...

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 ...