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Veterans of Foreign Wars

(Encyclopedia)Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), organization created (1899) at Columbus, Ohio, by veterans of the Spanish-American War. It received a charter from Congress in 1936. The organization later admitted vet...

Isabella II

(Encyclopedia)Isabella II, 1830–1904, queen of Spain (1833–68), daughter of Ferdinand VII and of Maria Christina. Her uncle, Don Carlos, contested her succession under the Salic law, and thus the Carlist Wars b...

Luna, Alvaro de

(Encyclopedia)Luna, Alvaro de älväˈrō dā lo͞oˈnä [key], 1391?–1453, constable of Castile, grand master of the Order of Santiago. The favorite of John II of Castile, he virtually ruled the kingdom, winning...

Louis XIV, king of France

(Encyclopedia)Louis XIV, 1638–1715, king of France (1643–1715), son and successor of King Louis XIII. Although he had a series of mistresses, Louis XIV finally came under the influence of Mme de Maintenon, wh...

Ferdinand, king of Romania

(Encyclopedia)Ferdinand, 1865–1927, king of Romania (1914–27), nephew of Carol I. The second son of the Prussian prince, Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, he was designated successor to the heirless Carol I ...

Connaught, Arthur William Patrick Albert, duke of

(Encyclopedia)Connaught, Arthur William Patrick Albert, duke of kŏnˈôt [key], 1850–1942, English prince; son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, brother of Edward VII. Trained for a military career, he served...

bird of paradise

(Encyclopedia)bird of paradise, common name for any of 43 species of medium- to crow-sized passerine birds of New Guinea and the adjacent islands, known for the bright plumage, elongated tail feathers called wires,...

John of the Cross, Saint

(Encyclopedia)John of the Cross, Saint, Span. Juan de la Cruz, 1542–91, Spanish mystic and poet, Doctor of the Church. His name was originally Juan de Yepes. He was a founder of the Discalced Carmelites and a clo...

Robertson, William

(Encyclopedia)Robertson, William, 1721–93, Scottish churchman and historian. As moderator (1762–80) of the general assembly of the Church of Scotland, he led the moderate party and enforced the right of the sta...

Toledo , city, Spain

(Encyclopedia)Toledo, city (1990 pop. 60,671), capital of Toledo prov. and of Castile–La Mancha, central Spain, on a granite hill surrounded on three sides by a gorge of the Tagus River. Historically and cultural...