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Tsankov, Dragan

(Encyclopedia)Tsankov, Dragan tsänˈkôf [key], 1828–1911, Bulgarian politician. As journalist and later as professor he played an important part in achieving the autonomy of the Bulgarian Church from the patri...

Valls Galfetti, Manuel Carlos

(Encyclopedia)Valls Galfetti, Manuel Carlos, 1962–, b. Barcelona, Spain. After his family moved to Paris, he became a member of the Socialist party (1980) and a French citizen (1982). Valls was a Ile-de-France co...

Vardaman, James Kimble

(Encyclopedia)Vardaman, James Kimble, 1861–1930, U.S. political leader, b. near Edna, Jackson co., Tex. Admitted to the Mississippi bar in 1881, he practiced law and was a newspaper editor before entering politic...

Quidde, Ludwig

(Encyclopedia)Quidde, Ludwig lo͞otˈvĭkh kvĭdˈə [key], 1858–1941, German pacifist and historian. He was elected (1907) to the Bavarian diet, was a member (1919–22) of the national assembly at Weimar, and l...

Dongan, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Dongan, Thomas dŏngˈgən [key], 1634–1715, colonial governor of New York, b. Co. Kildare, Ireland. He was appointed governor in 1682, and on the instructions of the duke of York (later James II), ...

Drake, Francis Marion

(Encyclopedia)Drake, Francis Marion, 1830–1903, Union army officer in the Civil War, railroad president, and governor of Iowa (1896–98), b. Rushville, Ill. He helped defend St. Joseph, Mo., against Confederate ...

Duclos, Jacques

(Encyclopedia)Duclos, Jacques zhäk düklōˈ [key], 1896–1975, French Communist party leader. Early in his career he joined the French Communist party and in 1931 became party secretary and a member of the polit...

bloc, parliamentary

(Encyclopedia)bloc, parliamentary [Fr.,=block], group of legislators formed to support special interests. A bloc may form because of a specific issue and dissolve when that issue has been resolved, or it may have a...

modem

(Encyclopedia)modem [modulator/demodulator], an external device or internal electronic circuitry used to transmit and receive digital data over a communications line normally used for analog signals. A modem attach...

Union Pacific Railroad

(Encyclopedia)Union Pacific Railroad, transportation company chartered (1862) by Congress to build part of the nation's first transcontinental railroad line. Under terms of the Pacific Railroads Act, the Union Paci...