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Basil the Great, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Basil the Great, Saint băˈzĭl, bāˈ– [key], c.330–379, Greek prelate, bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, Doctor of the Church and one of the Four Fathers of the Greek Church. He was a brother o...

West Quoddy Head

(Encyclopedia)West Quoddy Head, promontory extending into the Atlantic Ocean, SE Maine, SE of Lubec; the easternmost point in the continental United States. A lighthouse is there. ...

West, Paul Noden

(Encyclopedia)West, Paul Noden, 1930–2015, British-American writer, b. Eckington, Derbyshire, England, B.A. Univ. of Birmingham (1950), M.A. Columbia (1953). After serving in the Royal Air Force and teaching at M...

Gaius, Roman jurist

(Encyclopedia)Gaius gāˈəs, gīˈ– [key], fl. 2d cent., Roman jurist. He is known for the Institutes (repr., 2 vol., 1967; Vol. I is a translation of the text, Vol. II consists of commentaries), a legal textboo...

Constantine XI, Byzantine emperor

(Encyclopedia)Constantine XI (Constantine Palaeologus), d. 1453, last Byzantine emperor (1449–53), brother and successor of John VIII. To secure Western aid against the Turkish assault on what remained of the emp...

British West Africa

(Encyclopedia)British West Africa, former inclusive term for the British colonies of Cameroons, Gambia, Gold Coast, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Togoland. ...

West University Place

(Encyclopedia)West University Place, residential city (1990 pop. 12,920), Harris co., S Tex., completely surrounded by the city of Houston; inc. 1925. Rice Univ. is nearby. ...

Danish West Indies

(Encyclopedia)Danish West Indies: see Virgin Islands of the United States. ...

John VI, Byzantine emperor

(Encyclopedia)John VI (John Cantacuzene) kănˌtəkyo͞ozēnˈ [key], c.1292–1383, Byzantine emperor (1347–54). He was chief minister under Andronicus III, after whose death he proclaimed himself emperor and ma...

John II, Byzantine emperor

(Encyclopedia)John II (John Comnenus) kŏmnēˈnəs [key], 1088–1143, Byzantine emperor (1118–43), son and successor of Alexius I. He was crowned despite the intrigues of his sister, Anna Comnena, and of his mo...