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Foster, Hannah Webster

(Encyclopedia)Foster, Hannah Webster, 1759–1840, American novelist, b. Boston. She was one of the earliest American novelists and her epistolary novel, The Coquette (1797), was one of the first of its kind in Ame...

Foster, William Zebulon

(Encyclopedia)Foster, William Zebulon, 1881–1961, American Communist leader, b. Taunton, Mass. An itinerant worker in many different occupations, he was first affiliated with the Socialist party, next with the In...

Dulles, John Foster

(Encyclopedia)Dulles, John Foster dŭlˈəs [key], 1888–1959, U.S. secretary of state (1953–59), b. Washington, D.C.; brother of Allen Dulles, grandson of John Watson Foster, secretary of state under President ...

Wallace, David Foster

(Encyclopedia)Wallace, David Foster, 1962–2008, American writer, b. Ithaca, N.Y., grad. Amherst College (B.A., 1985), Univ. of Arizona (M.F.A., 1987). He published his comic first novel, The Broom of the System (...

Peabody, George Foster

(Encyclopedia)Peabody, George Foster pēˈbädē [key], 1852–1938, American banker and philanthropist, b. Columbus, Ga. Successful early in life as a banker and organizer of railroads and utility companies, he re...

Norman, Montagu Collet, 1st Baron Norman of St. Clere

(Encyclopedia)Norman, Montagu Collet, 1st Baron Norman of St. Clere, 1871–1950, English financier. He was governor of the Bank of England from 1920 to 1944, a tenure of office that broke all tradition. He long fa...

Clive, Robert, Baron Clive of Plassey

(Encyclopedia)Clive, Robert, Baron Clive of Plassey plăsˈē [key], 1725–74, British soldier and statesman. He went to India in 1743 as a clerk for the British East India Company and entered the military service...

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

(Encyclopedia)European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), international financial institution that invests primarily in the private sector to promote entrepreneurship and foster the development of demo...

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...

Thames, battle of the

(Encyclopedia)Thames, battle of the, engagement fought on the Thames River near Chatham, Ont. (Oct. 5, 1813), in the War of 1812. Gen. William H. Harrison led an American force of about 3,000 against a British army...

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