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Courland

(Encyclopedia)Courland or Kurland both: kûrˈlănd, Ger. ko͞orˈlänt [key], Latvian Kurzeme, historic region and former duchy, in Latvia, between the Baltic Sea and the Western Dvina River. It is an agricultural...

Mitchell, George John

(Encyclopedia)Mitchell, George John, 1933–, U.S. public official, b. Waterville, Maine. An attorney in private and government practice in the 1960s and 1970s, he was a protege of Senator Edmund Muskie. Generally ...

Highlands

(Encyclopedia)Highlands, mountain region in the northern extremity of Scotland. It consists roughly of the Scottish area north of the imaginary line from Dumbarton to Stonehaven excluding the Orkneys, the Shetlands...

Heath, Sir Edward Richard George

(Encyclopedia)Heath, Sir Edward Richard George, 1916–2005, British statesman. Educated at Oxford, he served in the Royal Artillery during World War II, rising to the rank of colonel. He was elected to Parliament ...

Cygnus

(Encyclopedia)Cygnus sĭgˈnəs [key] [Lat.,=the swan], northern constellation located SE of Draco and NW of Pegasus. It was depicted as a bird by most ancient cultures. It is sometimes called the Northern Cross be...

fugitive slave laws

(Encyclopedia)fugitive slave laws, in U.S. history, the federal acts of 1793 and 1850 providing for the return between states of escaped black slaves. Similar laws existing in both North and South in colonial days ...

Darfur

(Encyclopedia)Darfur därˈfo͞or [key], region and former sultanate, W Sudan. The region is mountainous, dominated by the central massif of Jebel Marra, which rises to 10,130 ft (3,088 m). Much of the terrain is d...

Persian Gulf Wars

(Encyclopedia)Persian Gulf Wars, two conflicts involving Iraq and U.S.-led coalitions in the late 20th and early 21st cent. The First Persian Gulf War, also known as the Gulf War, Jan.–Feb., 1991, was an armed co...

Balewa, Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa

(Encyclopedia)Balewa, Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa älhäˈjē äbo͞oˈbäkärˌ täfäˈwä bälāˈwä [key], 1912–66, Nigerian political leader. He was born Mallam Abubakar. After studying to become a teacher, ...

Williams, Betty

(Encyclopedia)Williams, Betty, 1943–2020, Northern Irish peace activist, b. Belfast as Elizabeth Smyth. In Aug., 1976, Williams, a receptionist, witnessed the death of three children when a car driven by an Irish...