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Ho Chi Minh

(Encyclopedia)Ho Chi Minh hô chē mĭn [key], 1890–1969, Vietnamese nationalist leader, president of North Vietnam (1954–69), and one of the most influential political leaders of the 20th cent. His given name ...

Gezer

(Encyclopedia)Gezer gēˈzər [key], ancient city of Canaan, on the coastal plain of Sharon, NW of Jerusalem. Its position guarding the road from Jerusalem to Jaffa has always given it importance, e.g., in the wars...

Vendée

(Encyclopedia)Vendée väNdāˈ [key], department (1990 pop. 509,356), W France, on the Bay of Biscay, in Poitou. The offshore islands of Noirmoutier and Yeu are included in the department. Largely an agricultural ...

Rodney, George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron

(Encyclopedia)Rodney, George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron, 1719–92, British admiral. He served with distinction in the Seven Years War (1757–63), his most notable achievement being the capture (1762) of Martinique...

fiat money

(Encyclopedia)fiat money fīˈət, fīˈăt [key], inconvertible money that is made legal tender by the decree, or fiat, of the government but that is not covered by a specie reserve. It is commonly understood to b...

Orsini, Felice

(Encyclopedia)Orsini, Felice ōrsēˈnē [key], 1819–58, Italian patriot who attempted to assassinate the French emperor Napoleon III. He was a follower of Mazzini in the movement for Italian unification. As a y...

Emmet, Robert

(Encyclopedia)Emmet, Robert, 1778–1803, Irish nationalist and revolutionary. He studied at Trinity College, Dublin, but left in 1798 because of his nationalist sympathies. In 1800 he went to France, where with ex...

Sullivan, John

(Encyclopedia)Sullivan, John, 1740–95, American Revolutionary general, b. Somersworth, N.H. He was a lawyer and a delegate (1774–75, 1780–81) to the Continental Congress but is better remembered as a military...

Nelson, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Nelson, Thomas, 1738–89, American Revolutionary general, signer of the Declaration of Independence, b. Yorktown, Va. He was a delegate to the Continental Congress (1775–77, 1779), commander (1777�...

Ledru-Rollin, Alexandre Auguste

(Encyclopedia)Ledru-Rollin, Alexandre Auguste älĕksäNˈdrə ôgüstˈ lədrüˈ-rôlăNˈ [key], 1807–74, French politician. A lawyer, he first became known as a radical opponent to the accession (1830) of Lou...