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Cantor, Eric Ivan

(Encyclopedia)Cantor, Eric Ivan, 1963–, U.S. politician, b. Richmond, Va., grad. George Washington Univ. (B.A., 1985), William and Mary (J.D., 1988), Columbia (M.S., 1989). A conservative Republican, he worked as...

Clifford, Clark McAdams

(Encyclopedia)Clifford, Clark McAdams, 1906–98, U.S. government official, b. Fort Scott, Kans. Admitted to the bar in 1928, he engaged in private practice before serving (1944–46) in the U.S. navy. As special a...

Hellman, Lillian

(Encyclopedia)Hellman, Lillian, 1905–84, American dramatist, b. New Orleans. Her plays, although often melodramatic, are marked by intelligence and craftsmanship. The Children's Hour (1934), her first drama, conc...

Juan Carlos I

(Encyclopedia)Juan Carlos I hwän kärˈlōs [key], 1938–, king of Spain (1975–2014), b. Rome. The grandson of Alfonso XIII, he was educated in Switzerland and in Spain. Placed by his father, Don Juan de Borbó...

John Birch Society

(Encyclopedia)John Birch Society, ultraconservative, anti-Communist organization in the United States. It was founded in Dec., 1958, by manufacturer Robert Welch, headquartered in Belmont, Mass., and named after Jo...

Mobutu Sese Seko

(Encyclopedia)Mobutu Sese Seko mōbo͞oˈtō sāˈsā sāˈkō [key], 1930–97, president of Zaïre (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). Born Joseph Désiré Mobutu, he returned from study in Brussels to th...

Kindi, al-

(Encyclopedia)Kindi, al- (Abu Yusuf Yakub ibn Ishak al-Kindi) äˈbo͞o yo͞oso͝ofˈ yäko͞obˈ ĭbˈən ēshäkˈ ăl-kĭnˈdē [key], 9th cent. Arab philosopher, b. Basra (now in Iraq). He studied at Basra and ...

Kristeva, Julia

(Encyclopedia)Kristeva, Julia, 1941–, French critic, psychoanalyst, semiotician, and writer, b. Sliven, Bulgaria. Writing in French, she has explored many subjects including structuralist linguistics and semiotic...

Turing, Alan Mathison

(Encyclopedia)Turing, Alan Mathison, 1912–54, British mathematician and computer theorist. While studying at Cambridge he began work in predicate logic that led to a proof (1937) that some mathematical problems a...

smart weapon

(Encyclopedia)smart weapon, missile or steerable bomb equipped with a laser, television, or satellite guidance system. Smart weapons, which use guidance systems that rely on external assistance, are distinguished f...