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ElBaradei, Mohamed

(Encyclopedia)ElBaradei, Mohamed ĕlbäräˈdā [key], 1942–, Egyptian lawyer and United Nations diplomat, b. Cairo, grad. Univ. of Cairo (1962), New York Univ. School of Law (1974). He worked (1964–80) in the ...

Ch'in, dynasty of China (221–206 b.c.)

(Encyclopedia)Ch'in chĭn [key], dynasty of China, which ruled from 221 b.c. to 206 b.c. The word China is derived from Ch'in, the first dynasty to unify the country by conquering the warring feudal states of the l...

Hezbollah

(Encyclopedia)Hezbollah [Arab., = Party of God], Lebanese Shiite political party and militia. Founded in 1982 with Iranian help to oppose Israeli forces occupying S Lebanon, Hezbollah launched guerrilla attacks...

Frederick William III

(Encyclopedia)Frederick William III, 1770–1840, king of Prussia (1797–1840), son and successor of Frederick William II. Well-intentioned but weak and vacillating, he endeavored to maintain neutrality in the Nap...

Morris, Robert, 1734–1806, American merchant

(Encyclopedia)Morris, Robert, 1734–1806, American merchant, known as the “financier of the American Revolution,” and signer of the Declaration of Independence, b. Liverpool, England. Morris emigrated to Ameri...

Primakov, Yevgeny Maksimovich

(Encyclopedia)Primakov, Yevgeny Maksimovich yĭvgyānˈyē mŭksyēˈməvyĭchˌ prēˌməkôfˈ [key], 1929–2015, Russian government official and economist, b. Kiev (now in Ukraine). An Arabic scholar, grad. (19...

Vienna, Congress of

(Encyclopedia)Vienna, Congress of, Sept., 1814–June, 1815, one of the most important international conferences in European history, called to remake Europe after the downfall of Napoleon I. Although the territo...

reading, mental process

(Encyclopedia)reading, process of mentally interpreting written symbols. Facility in reading is an essential factor in educational progress, and instruction in this basic skill is a primary purpose of elementary ed...

Petra

(Encyclopedia)Petra pēˈtrə [key], ancient city, in present-day Jordan, known to the Arabs as Wadi Musa for the stream that flows through it. A narrow, winding pass between towering walls leads to the flat, open ...

Moravian Church

(Encyclopedia)Moravian Church, Renewed Church of the Brethren, or Unitas Fratrum yo͞onēˈtäs fräˈtro͝om [key], an evangelical Christian communion whose adherents are sometimes called United Brethren or Herrn...