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Douglas, Archibald, 5th earl of Angus

(Encyclopedia)Douglas, Archibald, 5th earl of Angus, 1449–1514, Scottish nobleman. He was a member of the faction that allied with Edward IV of England in opposition to the influence of Robert Cochrane, favorite ...

Guibert of Ravenna

(Encyclopedia)Guibert of Ravenna gwĭbˈərt, gēbĕrˈ [key], d. 1100, Italian churchman, antipope (1080–1100) Clement III, b. Parma. As imperial chancellor of Italy (1057–63), he consistently supported the Ho...

Aranguren, José Luis

(Encyclopedia)Aranguren, José Luis (José Luis López-Aranguren Jimenez) hōsāˈ lo͞oēsˈ ärängo͞oˈrān [key], 1909–96, Spanish philosopher, essayist, and literary critic, b. Ávila. A professor of ethics...

Karimov, Islam Abduganievich

(Encyclopedia)Karimov, Islam Abduganievich ĭslämˈ kärēˈmôf [key], 1938–2016, Soviet and Uzbekistani political leader, president of Uzbekistan (1991–2016). He joined the Soviet Communist party in 1964, ro...

stamp tax

(Encyclopedia)stamp tax, method of collecting duties on certain transactions by means of a validating stamp attached to the taxable instrument, which may be a judicial act, a commercial document, a transfer of prop...

Swammerdam, Jan

(Encyclopedia)Swammerdam, Jan yän väˈmərdäm [key], 1637–80, Dutch naturalist. He was a pioneer in the use of the microscope. Before he turned to religious contemplation his chief interest was the study of in...

Singh, Vishwanath Pratap

(Encyclopedia)Singh, Vishwanath Pratap sĭng [key], 1931–2008, Indian politician and prime minister (1989–90). As finance minister under Rajiv Gandhi (1984–87) he pursued policies of economic liberalization....

Social Democratic party

(Encyclopedia)Social Democratic party (SDP), former British political party founded in 1981 to offer a centrist alternative to the more extreme positions of the then ruling Conservative party on the right and the o...

Somoza Debayle, Anastasio

(Encyclopedia)Somoza Debayle, Anastasio änästäsˈyō sōmōˈsä ᵺābīˈlā [key], 1925–80, president of Nicaragua (1967–72, 1974—79). The younger son of dictator Anastasio Somoza, he was educated in th...

Pobyedonostzev, Konstantin Petrovich

(Encyclopedia)Pobyedonostzev, Konstantin Petrovich kənstəntyēnˈ pētrôˈvĭch pəbyĕdənôsˈtsyĭf [key], 1827–1907, Russian public official and jurist. He was professor of civil law at Moscow when he attr...