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Girl Scouts

(Encyclopedia)Girl Scouts, recreational and service organization founded (1912) in Savannah, Ga., by Juliette Gordon Low. It was originally modeled after the Boy Scouts (see Scouts) and Girl Guides, organizations c...

Bocskay, Stephen

(Encyclopedia)Bocskay, Stephen bôchˈkī [key], 1557–1606, Hungarian noble, voivode [governor] (1604–6) and prince (1605–6) of Transylvania. Seeking to secure the independence of Transylvania, he supported h...

Conti

(Encyclopedia)Conti kôNtēˈ [key], cadet branch of the French royal house of Bourbon. Although the title of prince of Conti was created in the 16th cent., the founder of the continuous line was Armand de Bourbon,...

Holy League

(Encyclopedia)Holy League, in Italian history, alliance formed (1510–11) by Pope Julius II during the Italian Wars for the purpose of expelling Louis XII of France from Italy, thereby consolidating papal power. V...

Akihito

(Encyclopedia)Akihito äkēˈhētō [key], 1933–, emperor of Japan (1989–2019). As crown prince, he traveled widely, visiting Great Britain, Canada, the United States, and many countries of Asia and South Ameri...

Charles the Bold

(Encyclopedia)Charles the Bold, 1433–77, last reigning duke of Burgundy (1467–77), son and successor of Philip the Good. As the count of Charolais before his accession, he opposed the growing power of King Loui...

North German Confederation

(Encyclopedia)North German Confederation, 1867–71, alliance of 22 German states N of the Main River. Dominated by Prussia, it replaced the German Confederation and included the states that had supported Prussia i...

Alemanni

(Encyclopedia)Alemanni ălĭmănˈī [key], Germanic tribe, a splinter group of the Suebi (see Germans). The Alemanni may have been a confederation of smaller tribes. First mentioned (a.d. 213) as unsuccessfully as...

Spanish Succession, War of the

(Encyclopedia)Spanish Succession, War of the, 1701–14, last of the general European wars caused by the efforts of King Louis XIV to extend French power. The conflict in America corresponding to the period of the ...

Siegen, Ludwig von

(Encyclopedia)Siegen, Ludwig von lo͝otˈvĭkh fən zēˈgən [key], c.1609–1680, German engraver, b. Holland, educated in Germany. He is said to have invented (c.1640) the mezzotint process of engraving. Among h...