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Zinsser, Hans

(Encyclopedia)Zinsser, Hans zĭnsˈər [key], 1878–1940, American bacteriologist, b. New York City, grad. Columbia (B.A., 1899; M.D., 1903). He was professor of bacteriology at Stanford (1911–13), Columbia (191...

Reconstruction Finance Corporation

(Encyclopedia)Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC), former U.S. government agency, created in 1932 by the administration of Herbert Hoover. Its purpose was to facilitate economic activity by lending money in th...

Canada Act

(Encyclopedia)Canada Act, also called the Constitutional Act of 1982, which made Canada a fully sovereign state. The British Parliament approved it on Mar. 25, 1982, and Queen Elizabeth II proclaimed it on Apr. 17,...

Homeland Security, United States Department of

(Encyclopedia)Homeland Security, United States Department of (DHS), executive department of the federal government charged with protecting the security of the American homeland as its main responsibility. Its prima...

Bangui

(Encyclopedia)Bangui bäng-gēˈ [key], city (1994 est. pop. 560,000), capital of the Central African Republic, a port on the Ubangi River, near the Congo (Kinshasa) border. Bangui is an administrative, trade, and ...

Villahermosa

(Encyclopedia)Villahermosa vēˌyäārmōˈsä [key], city (1990 pop. 261,321), capital of Tabasco state, SE Mexico, on the Grijalva River. The city, which has good communications facilities, is the commercial and ...

Bridges, Simon Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Bridges, Simon Joseph, 1976–, New Zealand lawyer and politician, b. Auckland. A Maori and a member of the conservative National party, Bridges was a lawyer and prosecutor before he was first elected...

Waves

(Encyclopedia)Waves (Women Appointed for Voluntary Emergency Service), U.S. navy organization, created (1942) in World War II to release male naval personnel for sea duty. The organization was commanded until 1946 ...

Resolution Trust Corporation

(Encyclopedia)Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC), in U.S. history, government-owned company formed in 1989 to liquidate the assets of insolvent savings and loan associations (S&Ls). Essentially a huge property-...

Forrest, Nathan Bedford

(Encyclopedia)Forrest, Nathan Bedford, 1821–77, Confederate general, b. Bedford co., Tenn. (his birthplace is now in Marshall co.). At the beginning of the Civil War, Forrest, a wealthy citizen of Memphis, organi...