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Maggiore, Lago

(Encyclopedia)Maggiore, Lago vārbäˈnō [key], second largest lake in Italy, 82 sq mi (212 sq km), in the Alpine foothills of Piedmont and Lombardy. The lake is c.40 mi (65 km) long and has a maximum depth of c.1...

Korchnoi, Viktor Lvovich

(Encyclopedia)Korchnoi, Viktor Lvovich vyēkˈtər ləvôvˈyĭch kôrchˈnoi [key], 1931–2016, Russian-Swiss chess master. A long-time leading Soviet player, he lost to Anatoly Karpov in 1974, competing for the ...

Martinů, Bohuslav

(Encyclopedia)Martinů, Bohuslav bôˈho͝osläf märˈtĭno͞o [key], 1890–1959, Czech composer; studied at the Prague Conservatory. He played the violin (1918–23) in the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. Martinů...

Toggenburg

(Encyclopedia)Toggenburg tôgˈənbo͝orkh [key], region in the Thur valley, St. Gall canton, NE Switzerland. Dairying, livestock breeding, and textile production are its main industries, and tourism is significant...

Geneva Conventions

(Encyclopedia)Geneva Conventions, series of treaties signed (1864–1949) in Geneva, Switzerland, providing for humane treatment of combatants and civilians in wartime. The first convention, signed by 16 nations, c...

Ginastera, Alberto

(Encyclopedia)Ginastera, Alberto älbārˈtō hēnästāˈrä [key], 1916–83, Argentinean composer, b. Buenos Aires. Ginastera is considered among the most prominent Latin American composers of the 20th cent. His...

Glarus

(Encyclopedia)Glarus gläˈrəs [key], Fr. Glaris, canton, 264 sq mi (684 sq km), E central Switzerland. Lo...

Engadine

(Encyclopedia)Engadine ĕnjädēˈnä [key], valley of the upper Inn River, Grisons canton, E Switzerland, in the Rhaetian Alps. It extends for c.60 mi (100 km) NE from Maloja Pass to the Austrian border and consis...

Universal Postal Union

(Encyclopedia)Universal Postal Union (UPU), specialized agency of the United Nations since 1948, with headquarters at Bern, Switzerland. Established in 1875 following adoption of the Universal Postal Convention, it...

Aylmer, John

(Encyclopedia)Aylmer, John ālˈmər [key], 1521–94, bishop of London. His name is also spelled Ælmer or Elmer. He was briefly chaplain to the duke of Suffolk and tutor to his daughter, Lady Jane Grey. In 1553 h...