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Madeira Islands

(Encyclopedia)Madeira Islands mədērˈə, –dârˈə [key], archipelago (1991 pop. 257,692), 308 sq mi (798 sq km), autonomous region of Portugal, in the Atlantic Ocean c.350 mi (560 km) off Morocco. Madeira, the...

Manlius

(Encyclopedia)Manlius mănˈlēəs [key], ancient Roman gens, chiefly patrician but later containing plebeian families. Marcus Manlius Capitolinus, d. 384? b.c., consul (392 b.c.), took refuge in the Capitol when R...

entablature

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Corinthian entablature showing the parts of the architrave, frieze, and cornice entablature ĕntăbˈləcho͝or [key], the entire unit of horizontal members above the columns or pilasters in c...

foreign exchange

(Encyclopedia)foreign exchange, methods and instruments used to adjust the payment of debts between two nations that employ different currency systems. A nation's balance of payments has an important effect on the ...

Francis de Sales, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Francis de Sales, Saint, 1567–1622, French Roman Catholic preacher, Doctor of the Church, and key figure in the Counter Reformation in France. He was a member of an aristocratic family of Savoy and ...

Calderón de la Barca, Pedro

(Encyclopedia)Calderón de la Barca, Pedro pāˈᵺrō käldārōnˈ dā lä bärˈkä [key], 1600–1681, Spanish dramatist, last important figure of the Spanish Golden Age, b. Madrid. Educated at a Jesuit school ...

Waldeck-Rousseau, René

(Encyclopedia)Waldeck-Rousseau, René rənāˈ väldĕkˈ-ro͞osōˈ [key], 1846–1904, French statesman. Belonging to the republican left, he was twice minister of the interior (1881, 1883–85), and in 1884 he w...

Federal Trade Commission

(Encyclopedia)Federal Trade Commission (FTC), independent agency of the U.S. government established in 1915 and charged with keeping American business competition free and fair. The FTC has no jurisdiction over ban...

Newcomb, Simon

(Encyclopedia)Newcomb, Simon no͞oˈkəm, nyo͞oˈ– [key], 1835–1909, American astronomer, b. Nova Scotia, grad. Lawrence Scientific School, Harvard, 1858. Living in the United States from 1853, he was appointe...

Leopold III, king of the Belgians

(Encyclopedia)Leopold III, 1901–83, king of the Belgians (1934–51), son and successor of Albert I. In 1936, Leopold announced a fundamental change in foreign policy; Belgium abandoned its military alliance with...