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Austrian Succession, War of the

(Encyclopedia)Austrian Succession, War of the, 1740–48, general European war. In 1744 Frederick II, fearing the rising power of Austria, started the Second Silesian War by invading Bohemia; he was soon expell...

Polish Succession, War of the

(Encyclopedia)Polish Succession, War of the, 1733–35. On the death (1733) of Augustus II of Poland, Stanislaus I sought to reascend the Polish throne. He was supported by his son-in-law, Louis XV of France. The r...

Bavarian Succession, War of the

(Encyclopedia)Bavarian Succession, War of the, between Austria and Prussia, 1778–79. With the extinction of the Bavarian line of the house of Wittelsbach on the death of Elector Maximilian Joseph in 1777, the duc...

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 ...

Triple Alliance, War of the

(Encyclopedia)Triple Alliance, War of the, 1865–70, fought between Paraguay on one side and an alliance of Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay on the other. Brazil's military reprisals for injuries to Brazilian subjec...

Breton Succession, War of the

(Encyclopedia)Breton Succession, War of the, 1341–65, an important episode of the Hundred Years War. Duke John III of Brittany died in 1341 without heirs. The succession was contested by his half-brother, John de...

Sinop

(Encyclopedia)Sinop sēnōpˈ [key], anc. Sinope, town (1990 pop. 25,537), capital of Sinop prov., N Turkey, on the Black Sea. A small port, it has an excellent harbor but lacks adequate communications with the int...

Åland Islands

(Encyclopedia)Åland Islands ōˈläntsûˈu̇rnä [key], archipelago, 581 sq mi (1,505 sq km), in the Baltic Sea between Sweden and Finland, at the entrance of the Gulf of Bothnia. Pol...

Pirogov, Nikolai Ivanovich

(Encyclopedia)Pirogov, Nikolai Ivanovich nyĭkəlīˈ ēväˈnəvĭch pĭrōgôfˈ [key], 1810–81, Russian surgeon, b. Moscow. He entered Moscow Univ. at the age of 14 and completed the medical curriculum at 17. ...

Cobden, Richard

(Encyclopedia)Cobden, Richard kŏbˈdən [key], 1804–65, British politician, a leading spokesman for the Manchester school. He made a fortune as a calico printer in Manchester. A firm believer in free trade, afte...