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Jarring, Gunnar

(Encyclopedia)Jarring, Gunnar gŭnˈär yärˈĭng [key], 1907–2002, Swedish diplomat. He entered diplomatic service during World War II and was minister to India (1948–51), Ceylon (now Sri Lanka; 1950–51), a...

Five-Year Plan

(Encyclopedia)Five-Year Plan, Soviet economic practice of planning to augment agricultural and industrial output by designated quotas for a limited period of usually five years. Nations other than the former USSR a...

Talabani, Jalal

(Encyclopedia)Talabani, Jalal, 1933–2017, Iraqi political leader, president of Iraq (2005–14), b. Kelkan. He joined the Kurdish Democratic party (KDP) in 1947, becoming a member of its central committee in 1951...

Volhynia

(Encyclopedia)Volhynia vŏlĭˈnyə [key], Ukr. and Rus. Volyn, Pol. Wołyń, historic region, W Ukraine, around the headstreams of the Pripyat and Western Bug rivers in an area of forests, lakes, and marshlands. O...

Amato, Giuliano

(Encyclopedia)Amato, Giuliano, 1938–, Italian lawyer and political leader, premier of Italy (1992–93, 2000–2001), b. Turin. He has taught at several universities, including Sapienza Univ. of Rome (1975–97)....

Sologub, Feodor

(Encyclopedia)Sologub, Feodor fyôˈdər sələgo͞opˈ [key], pseud. of Feodor Kuzmich Teternikov, 1863–1927, Russian poet and prose writer. By profession a schoolteacher and as a poet one of the older symbolist...

Ardern, Jacinda Kate Laurell

(Encyclopedia)Ardern, Jacinda Kate Laurell, 1980–, New Zealand political leader. A member of the Labor party, she worked for Prime Minister Helen Clark and for British prime minister Tony Blair and also was elect...

Watson, Thomas John, Jr.

(Encyclopedia)Watson, Thomas John, Jr., 1914–93, American industrialist, b. Dayton, Ohio. The son of Thomas John Watson, Sr., the founder of the International Business Machines Corp. (IBM), he joined the family b...

Knights of Labor

(Encyclopedia)Knights of Labor, American labor organization, started by Philadelphia tailors in 1869, led by Uriah S. Stephens. It became a body of national scope and importance in 1878 and grew more rapidly after ...

icebreaker

(Encyclopedia)icebreaker, ship of special hull design and wide beam, with relatively flat bottom, designed to force its way through ice. When the icebreaker charges into the ice at full speed, its sharply inclined ...