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Cliburn, Van

(Encyclopedia)Cliburn, Van (Harvey Lavan Cliburn) klīˈbərn [key], 1934–2013, American pianist, b. Shreveport, La. Until 1951, Cliburn studied with his mother, a concert pianist; he later was a pupil of Rosina ...

Warren, Gouverneur Kemble

(Encyclopedia)Warren, Gouverneur Kemble gəvərnērˈ [key], 1830–82, Union general in the American Civil War, b. Cold Spring, N.Y. An army engineer, he assisted in the survey of the Mississippi delta and also en...

Voice of America

(Encyclopedia)Voice of America, broadcasting service of the United States Information Agency, est. 1942. Originally set up as a means of fighting the cold war, the Voice of America produces and broadcasts radio pro...

Leonov, Aleksei Arkhipovich

(Encyclopedia)Leonov, Aleksei Arkhipovich ŭlˌyĭksyāˈ ärkhˌyĭpôˈvyĭch [key], 1934–2019, Soviet-Russian cosmonaut and military officer. While serving as copilot of Voskhod 2 (Mar. 18–19, 1964), he beca...

Dobrynin, Anatoly Fyodorovich

(Encyclopedia)Dobrynin, Anatoly Fyodorovich, 1919–2010, Soviet diplomat, b. Krasnaya Gorka. He studied at a Moscow aviation institute, designed aircraft during World War II, and was selected after the war for dip...

Kennan, George Frost

(Encyclopedia)Kennan, George Frost, 1904–2005, U.S. diplomat and historian, b. Milwaukee, Wis., grad. Princeton, 1925. A brilliant strategist and among the most influential and intellectual Americans in the 20th-...

nuclear weapons

(Encyclopedia)nuclear weapons, weapons of mass destruction powered by atomic, rather than chemical, processes. Nuclear weapons produce large explosions and hazardous radioactive byproducts by means of either nuclea...

civil defense

(Encyclopedia)civil defense, nonmilitary activities designed to protect civilians and their property from enemy actions in time of war. A civil defense program usually includes measures taken during peace (e.g., bu...

nuclear winter

(Encyclopedia)nuclear winter, theory holding that the smoke and dust produced by a large nuclear war would result in a prolonged period of cold on the earth. The earliest version of the theory, which was put forwar...

Point Four program

(Encyclopedia)Point Four program, U.S. foreign aid project aimed at providing technological skills, knowledge, and equipment to poor nations throughout the world. The program also encouraged the flow of private inv...