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despotism

(Encyclopedia)despotism, government by an absolute ruler unchecked by effective constitutional limits to his power. In Greek usage, a despot was ruler of a household and master of its slaves. The title was applied ...

Pushkin

(Encyclopedia)Pushkin po͝oshˈkĭn, Rus. po͞oshˈkĭn [key], city (1989 pop. 95,000), NW European Russia, a residential and resort suburb of St. Petersburg. It produces road-building equipment and has an importan...

Flor, Roger de

(Encyclopedia)Flor, Roger de, d. c.1306, German commander of Spanish mercenaries, b. Italy. He entered the order of the Knights Templars and fought (1291) at Acre (see Akko, but he was obliged to leave the order wh...

Joan of Kent

(Encyclopedia)Joan of Kent, 1328–85, English noblewoman; daughter of Edmund of Woodstock, earl of Kent, youngest son of Edward I. She early gained wide note for her beauty and charm, though the appellation Fair M...

Elizabeth, queen consort of George VI of Great Britain

(Encyclopedia)Elizabeth, 1900–2002, queen consort of George VI of Great Britain, mother of Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret, b. London. She was Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon until her marriage (1923). During the Bl...

Kiel Canal

(Encyclopedia)Kiel Canal, artificial waterway, 61 mi (98 km) long, in Schleswig-Holstein, N central Germany, connecting the North Sea with the Baltic Sea. At sea level, the canal extends from Kiel on the Baltic to ...

Stepinac, Aloysius Victor

(Encyclopedia)Stepinac, Aloysius Victor, Croatian, Alojzije Viktor Stepinac stĕpˈĭnäts [key], 1898–1960, Yugoslav prelate, cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, b. Croatia-Salvonia, Austria-Hungary. In 1937 ...

Pobyedonostzev, Konstantin Petrovich

(Encyclopedia)Pobyedonostzev, Konstantin Petrovich kənstəntyēnˈ pētrôˈvĭch pəbyĕdənôsˈtsyĭf [key], 1827–1907, Russian public official and jurist. He was professor of civil law at Moscow when he attr...

York, Edmund of Langley, duke of

(Encyclopedia)York, Edmund of Langley, duke of, 1341–1402, fifth son of Edward III of England. He was made (1362) earl of Cambridge, served on expeditions to Spain and France, and married (1372) Isabel, daughter ...

WAC

(Encyclopedia)WAC (Women's Army Corps), U.S. army organization created (1942) during World War II to enlist women as auxiliaries for noncombatant duty in the U.S. army. Before 1943 it was known as the Women's Auxil...