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MacDonald, Ramsay

(Encyclopedia)MacDonald, Ramsay (James Ramsay McDonald), 1866–1937, British statesman, b. Scotland. The illegitimate son of a servant, he went as a young man to London, where he joined the Social Democratic Feder...

Khiva, khanate of

(Encyclopedia)Khiva, khanate of, former state of central Asia, based on the Khiva (Khwarazm or Khorezm) oasis along the Amu Darya River. The khanate lay S of the Aral Sea and included large areas of the Kyzyl Kum a...

Parvanov, Georgi Sedefchov

(Encyclopedia)Parvanov, Georgi Sedefchov, 1957–, Bulgarian political leader, president of Bulgaria (2002–12), b. Sirishnik. A historian by profession, he joined the Bulgarian Communist party (BCP) in 1981 and w...

Rokossovsky, Konstantin

(Encyclopedia)Rokossovsky, Konstantin kənstəntyēnˈ rŏkŏs-sôfˈskē [key], 1896–1968, Soviet general, b. Warsaw. He entered the czarist army and in 1917 joined the Bolshevik forces in the Russian Revolution...

Zoshchenko, Mikhail Mikhailovich

(Encyclopedia)Zoshchenko, Mikhail Mikhailovich mēkhəyēl mēkhīˈləvĭch zôˈshchənkô [key], 1895–1958, Soviet humorist. Zoshchenko was born in Poltava, but spent most of his life in St. Petersburg where h...

United Church of Canada

(Encyclopedia)United Church of Canada, Protestant denomination formed in 1925 by the union of the Methodist, Congregational, and Presbyterian churches in Canada. A large number of Presbyterian congregations, howeve...

Central American Federation

(Encyclopedia)Central American Federation or Central American Union, political confederation (1825–38) of the republics of Central America—Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Salvador. United under ...

Zhivkov, Todor

(Encyclopedia)Zhivkov, Todor tôˈdôr zhĭvkôfˈ [key], 1911–98, Bulgarian political leader. A printer, and a Communist party member from 1932, he rose to prominence as a partisan leader during World War II and...

Aden, Gulf of

(Encyclopedia)Aden, Gulf of äˈdən, āˈ– [key], western arm of the Arabian Sea, 550 mi (885 km) long, lying between Yemen and Somalia; connected with the Red Sea by the Bab el Mandeb. The gulf is on the great ...

United Mine Workers of America

(Encyclopedia)United Mine Workers of America (UMW), international labor union formed (1890) by the amalgamation of the National Progressive Union (organized 1888) and the mine locals under the Knights of Labor. It ...