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picnic

(Encyclopedia)picnic, social gathering at which each participant generally brings food to be shared. The Picnic Society was formed in London early in the 19th cent. by a group of fashionable people for purposes of ...

German Confederation

(Encyclopedia)CE5 German Confederation (1815) German Confederation, 1815–66, union of German states provided for at the Congress of Vienna to replace the old Holy Roman Empire, which had been destroyed during...

Nemtsov, Boris Yefimovich

(Encyclopedia)Nemtsov, Boris Yefimovich, 1959–2015, Russian physicist and politician. He worked at the Gorky Radiophysics Research Institute (1981–90) before he was elected to the Soviet Congress of People's De...

Whitelaw of Penrith, William Stephen Ian Whitelaw, Viscount

(Encyclopedia)Whitelaw of Penrith, William Stephen Ian Whitelaw, Viscount, 1918–99, British politician. A Scottish landowner and cattle farmer, he was elected to Parliament as a Conservative in 1955 and served as...

Ceauşescu, Nicolae

(Encyclopedia)Ceauşescu, Nicolae nēkŏlīˈ choushĕsˈko͞o [key], 1918–89, Romanian statesman. The son of a peasant, he early became active in the Romanian Communist movement and was arrested as a revolutiona...

Micronesia, Federated States of

(Encyclopedia)Micronesia, Federated States of, independent nation (2015 est. pop. 104,000), c.271 sq mi (702 sq km), an island group in the W Pacific Ocean. It comprises four states: Kosrae, Pohnpei (formerly Ponap...

New York, University of the State of

(Encyclopedia)New York, University of the State of, chartered 1784. It consists of all secondary and higher educational institutions incorporated in the state and other institutions, organizations, and agencies for...

Astor, William Backhouse, 1829–92, American financier and sportsman

(Encyclopedia)Astor, William Backhouse, 1829–92, American financier and sportsman, b. New York City. The son of William Backhouse Astor (1792–1875), he was a retiring man, notable principally for his wealth and...

Abed, Sir Fazle Hasan

(Encyclopedia)Abed, Sir Fazle Hasan, 1936–2019, Bangladeshi humanitarian. After studying accounting in Britain, he returned (1968) to what was then East Pakistan and began working for Shell Pakistan. In 1970, dur...

Housing and Urban Development, United States Department of

(Encyclopedia)Housing and Urban Development, United States Department of (HUD), established 1965 to coordinate and administer programs that provide assistance for housing and community development. The department a...