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Paris, University of

(Encyclopedia)Paris, University of, at Paris, France; founded 12th cent., confirmed 1215 by papal bull. The most famous of its colleges was the Sorbonne, which opened in 1253 and gained academic and theological dis...

Wolcott, Oliver, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury

(Encyclopedia)Wolcott, Oliver, 1760–1833, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury (1795–1800), b. Litchfield, Conn; son of Oliver Wolcott. Admitted to the bar in 1781, he served as Connecticut comptroller (1788–89), a...

Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons

(Encyclopedia)Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), international body (est. 1997) responsible for the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which aims at the destruction o...

American Association for the Advancement of Science

(Encyclopedia)American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), private organization devoted to furthering the work of scientists and improving the effectiveness of science in the promotion of human welfa...

Ferdinand II, king of the Two Sicilies

(Encyclopedia)Ferdinand II, 1810–59, king of the Two Sicilies (1830–59), son and successor of Francis I. Although initially he sought to improve the wretched conditions of his kingdom, he soon relapsed into the...

Lycurgus, one of the Ten Attic Orators

(Encyclopedia)Lycurgus, c.396–c.325 b.c., one of the Ten Attic Orators of the Alexandrian canon; pupil of Isocrates. A capable and honored public official, he administered the state finances from 338 to 326 b.c. ...

Timothy , epistles in the New Testament

(Encyclopedia)Timothy, two letters of the New Testament. With Titus they comprise the Pastoral Epistles, in which St. Paul addresses his coworkers as the guardians and transmitters of his teaching. Modern scholars ...

cloth of gold

(Encyclopedia)cloth of gold, fabric woven wholly or partly of gold threads. From remote times gold has been used as material for weaving either alone or with other fibers. In India tapestries were made from gold th...

Air Force, United States Department of the

(Encyclopedia)Air Force, United States Department of the, military department within the U.S. Dept. of Defense (see Defense, United States Department of). The Air Force traces its roots to the founding of the Aeron...

National Museum of Women in the Arts

(Encyclopedia) National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C., established in 1987. Washington-area philanthropist and art collector Wilhelmina Cole Holl...