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Interpol

(Encyclopedia)Interpol, acronym for the International Criminal Police Organization, a worldwide clearinghouse for police information. Conceived in 1914, Interpol was formally established in 1923 with headquarters a...

Vidocq, Eugène François

(Encyclopedia)Vidocq, Eugène François ûzhĕnˈ fräNswäˈ vēdôkˈ [key], 1775–1857, French detective. After a career of crime for which he had been imprisoned, he joined the Paris Sûreté (security police)...

Black Hand

(Encyclopedia)Black Hand, symbol and name for a criminal and terroristic secret society, and especially associated with the Mafia and the Camorra. The Black Hand flourished in Sicily in the late 19th cent., and in ...

Hill, James Jerome

(Encyclopedia)Hill, James Jerome, 1838–1916, American railroad builder, b. Ontario, Canada. He went to St. Paul, Minn., in 1856. He became a partner of Norman Kittson in a steamboat line and, with Kittson, Donald...

Hughes, Sir Samuel

(Encyclopedia)Hughes, Sir Samuel, 1853–1921, Canadian political leader, b. Ontario. A schoolteacher and newspaper editor, he entered the House of Commons in 1892 and held a seat until his death. As minister of mi...

Gaspé, Philippe Aubert de

(Encyclopedia)Gaspé, Philippe Aubert de fēlēpˈ ōbĕrˈ də gäspāˈ [key], 1786–1871, French Canadian author. He was high sheriff of Quebec for several years. His Les Anciens Canadiens (1863, tr. 1864, 1890...

Morrice, James Wilson

(Encyclopedia)Morrice, James Wilson môrˈĭs [key], 1865–1924, Canadian painter, b. Montreal. Abandoning law, he went to Paris, where he studied painting. He visited Venice, Trinidad, Tunis, and periodically ret...

Nipigon, Lake

(Encyclopedia)Nipigon, Lake nĭpˈĭgŏn [key], c.1,870 sq mi (4,840 sq km), central Ont., Canada. It has many islands. Its outlet, the Nipigon River (40 mi/64 km long) flows south, past the logging town of Nipigon...

Bourinot, Sir John George

(Encyclopedia)Bourinot, Sir John George bo͝orˈĭnōˌ [key], 1837–1902, Canadian historian and political scientist, b. Sydney, N.S. He is remembered as an authority on the Canadian constitution and government. ...

Laval, François Xavier de

(Encyclopedia)Laval, François Xavier de fräNswäˈ zävyāˈ də lävälˈ [key], 1623–1708, French prelate in Canada, first bishop of Quebec. Of noble family (his family name in full was Laval-Montmorency), he...