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Iran-contra affair

(Encyclopedia)Iran-contra affair, in U.S. history, secret arrangement in the 1980s to provide funds to the Nicaraguan contra rebels from profits gained by selling arms to Iran. The Iran-contra affair was the produc...

Van Zeeland, Paul

(Encyclopedia)Van Zeeland, Paul pōl vän zāˈlänt [key], 1893–1973, Belgian political leader. He was a professor of law and later director of the institute of economic science at the Univ. of Louvain and vice ...

Ride, Sally Kristen

(Encyclopedia)Ride, Sally Kristen 1951–2012, American astrophysicist and astronaut, b. Encino, Calif. With an M.A. in physics (1975) and a Ph.D. in astrophysics from Stanford Univ., she joined NASA in 1978, where...

Alemán, Miguel

(Encyclopedia)Alemán, Miguel mēgĕlˈ älāmänˈ [key], 1902–83, president of Mexico (1946–52). Son of a revolutionary general, Alemán became a highly successful lawyer and a champion of Mexican labor. He w...

Colby, Bainbridge

(Encyclopedia)Colby, Bainbridge, 1869–1950, U.S. lawyer and public official, b. St. Louis. Upon graduation (1891) from Columbia law school, he began law practice in New York City and became active in Republican p...

Abd el-Krim

(Encyclopedia)Abd el-Krim äbˌdĕl-krĭmˈ [key], 1882?–1963, leader of the Rif tribes of Morocco, called in full Muhammad Ibn Abd al-Karim al-Khattabi. An important figure in the administration of the Spanish Z...

Arias Sánchez, Oscar

(Encyclopedia)Arias Sánchez, Oscar ôsˈkär ärˈyäs sänˈchĕz [key], 1941–, president of Costa Rica (1986–90, 2006–). He was financial adviser to the president (1970–72), minister of national planning...

Brown, Ron

(Encyclopedia)Brown, Ron (Ronald Harmon Brown), 1941–96, American politician, b. Washington, D.C. Raised in New York City's Harlem, he attended Middlebury College (grad. 1962) and St. John's Law School (grad. 197...

astronaut

(Encyclopedia)astronaut, crew member on a U.S. manned spaceflight mission; the Soviet term is cosmonaut. Candidates for manned spaceflight are carefully screened to meet the highest physical and mental standards, a...

Akintola, Samuel Ladoke

(Encyclopedia)Akintola, Samuel Ladoke, 1910–66, Nigerian politician, b. Ogbomosho, SW Nigeria. A Yoruba, he held the title of Oloye Aare Ona Kakanfo XIII of the Yoruba. After studying law and public administratio...