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Shaw, George Bernard

(Encyclopedia)Shaw, George Bernard, 1856–1950, Irish playwright and critic. He revolutionized the Victorian stage, then dominated by artificial melodramas, by presenting vigorous dramas of ideas. The lengthy pref...

Uribe Vélez, Álvaro

(Encyclopedia)Uribe Vélez, Álvaro, 1952–, Colombian politician. A lawyer from a wealthy cattle-ranching family, he held a number of government posts before becoming mayor of Medellín in 1982; he was later a Co...

Hollande, François Gérard Georges

(Encyclopedia)Hollande, François Gérard Georges, 1954–, French lawyer and politician, president of France (2012–17), b. Rouen. He attended the elite National School of Administration (ENA) and Paris Institute...

handball, team

(Encyclopedia)handball, team, or field handball, team court game. Despite its status as an Olympic sport, the game is virtually unknown in the United States. Originated in central Europe in the early 1900s as an ou...

Oxon Hill

(Encyclopedia)Oxon Hill, village (1990 pop. 35,794), Prince Georges co., central Md., a suburb S of Washington, D.C. Oxon Hill was dominated by large estates until the 1950s. National Harbor, a major mixed-use deve...

Codrington, Sir Edward

(Encyclopedia)Codrington, Sir Edward kŏdˈrĭngtən [key], 1770–1851, British admiral. He held various commands in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars, taking part in the battle of Trafalgar (1805) and ...

Zama

(Encyclopedia)Zama zāˈmə [key], ancient town near the northern coast of Africa, in present Tunisia. Although there was more than one town named Zama, tradition says that in 202 b.c. Scipio Africanus Major defeat...

Sharpton, Rev. Al

(Encyclopedia) Sharpton, Rev. Al (Alfred Charles Sharpton), 1954- , African-American minister and civil rights activist, b, Brownsville, Brooklyn, N.Y. A child-prodi...

Simpson Desert

(Encyclopedia)Simpson Desert, c.50,000 sq mi (130,000 sq km), barren region of central Australia, predominantly in the southeastern portion of the Northern Territory, extending S into Queensland and E into South Au...

Darius III

(Encyclopedia)Darius III (Darius Codomannus) kŏdəmănˈəs [key], d. 330 b.c., king of ancient Persia (336–330 b.c.). A cousin of Artaxerxes III, he was raised to the throne by the eunuch Bagoas, who had murder...