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Hague Conferences

(Encyclopedia)Hague Conferences, term for the International Peace Conference of 1899 (First Hague Conference) and the Second International Peace Conference of 1907 (Second Hague Conference). Both were called by Rus...

Harold III

(Encyclopedia)Harold III or Harold Hardrada härdräˈdə [key], Norse Harald Harðráði [Harold stern council], d. 1066, king of Norway (1046–66), half-brother of Olaf II. After Olaf's defeat (1030), Harold wen...

Frederick William I

(Encyclopedia)Frederick William I, 1688–1740, king of Prussia (1713–40), son and successor of Frederick I. He continued the administrative reforms and the process of centralization begun by Frederick William, t...

Gustavus IV

(Encyclopedia)Gustavus IV, 1778–1837, king of Sweden (1792–1809). On the assassination of his father, Gustavus III, he succeeded under the regency of his uncle, later King Charles XIII, a liberal. Attaining his...

grenade

(Encyclopedia)grenade grĭnādˈ [key], small bomb either thrown by hand or shot from a modified rifle or a grenade launcher. It may be filled with gas or chemicals but more often holds an explosive charge that fra...

Gentileschi, Orazio

(Encyclopedia)Gentileschi, Orazio jānˌtēlĕsˈkē [key], c.1562–c.1639, Tuscan painter, b. Pisa. His real surname was Lomi, but he adopted his uncle's name. He studied in Rome, where he was associated with Ag...

Kabir

(Encyclopedia)Kabir kəbērˈ [key], 1440–1518, Indian mystic and poet. A Muslim by birth, he was a weaver in Benares (Varanasi) and early in life may have become the disciple of the famous Hindu saint Ramananda....

Joanna, Spanish queen of Castile

(Encyclopedia)Joanna (Joanna the Mad), 1479–1555, Spanish queen of Castile and León (1504–55), daughter of Ferdinand II and Isabella I. She succeeded to Castile and León at the death of her mother. Ferdinand ...

Megiddo

(Encyclopedia)Megiddo məgĭdˈō [key], city, ancient Palestine, by the Kishon River on the southern edge of the plain of Esdraelon, N of Samaria, located at present-day Tel Megiddo, SE of Haifa, Israel, near mode...

Montez, Lola

(Encyclopedia)Montez, Lola mŏntĕzˈ [key], 1818?–1861, Irish adventurer, whose original name was Marie Dolores Eliza Rosanna Gilbert. Her early marriage to an army officer soon ended in divorce. She adopted the...