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Dhahran

(Encyclopedia)Dhahran däränˈ, däˌhəränˈ [key], city, NE Saudi Arabia, near the Persian Gulf...

Francis, Sir Philip

(Encyclopedia)Francis, Sir Philip, 1740–1818, British statesman and pamphleteer. He may have been the author known as Junius. He held several minor posts in government offices before being appointed to the counci...

Lawrence, James

(Encyclopedia)Lawrence, James, 1781–1813, American naval hero, b. Burlington, N.J. He entered the navy in 1798 and saw his first important service in the Tripolitan War. In the War of 1812, as commander of the Ho...

William II, king of the Netherlands

(Encyclopedia)William II, 1792–1849, king of the Netherlands and grand duke of Luxembourg (1840–49), son and successor of William I. He served with Wellington in the Peninsular War, was wounded at Waterloo, and...

Rusk, Thomas Jefferson

(Encyclopedia)Rusk, Thomas Jefferson, 1803–57, American political leader, U.S. Senator from Texas (1846–57), b. Pendleton District, S.C. He studied law under John C. Calhoun and practiced in Clarksville, Ga., f...

Worden, John Lorimer

(Encyclopedia)Worden, John Lorimer wûrˈdən [key], 1818–97, American naval officer, b. Westchester co., N.Y. Appointed midshipman in 1834, he saw varied service before the Civil War. Worden was captured (Apr., ...

dragon's blood

(Encyclopedia)dragon's blood, name for a red resin obtained from a number of different plants. It was held by early Greeks, Romans, and Arabs to have medicinal properties; Dioscorides and other early writers descri...

Farquhar, George

(Encyclopedia)Farquhar, George färˈkər, –kwər [key], 1678–1707, Irish dramatist, b. Londonderry (now Derry), Ireland. After his short career as an actor ended when he severely wounded a fellow actor in a st...

Homestead strike

(Encyclopedia)Homestead strike, in U.S. history, a bitterly fought labor dispute. On June 29, 1892, workers belonging to the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers struck the Carnegie Steel Company at Ho...

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...