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terrorism

(Encyclopedia)terrorism, the threat or use of violence, often against the civilian population, to achieve political or social ends, to intimidate opponents, or to publicize grievances. The term dates from the Reign...

St. John, Henry, Viscount Bolingbroke

(Encyclopedia)St. John, Henry, Viscount Bolingbroke sĭn jŭn, bŏlˈĭngbro͝ok [key], 1678–1751, English statesman. He retired from politics in 1735 and spent most his remaining years on his estates in France...

Central Intelligence Agency

(Encyclopedia)Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), independent executive bureau of the U.S. government established by the National Security Act of 1947, replacing the wartime Office of Strategic Services (1942–45),...

Turkey , country, Asia and Europe

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Turkey, Turk. Türkiye türˌkēyĕˈ [key], officially Republic of Turkey, republic (2015 est. pop. 78,271,000), 301,380 sq mi (780,574 sq km), SW Asia and SE Europe. It borders on Iraq (SE), ...

common law

(Encyclopedia)common law, system of law that prevails in England and in countries colonized by England. The name is derived from the medieval theory that the law administered by the king's courts represented the co...

James II, king of England, Scotland, and Ireland

(Encyclopedia)James II, 1633–1701, king of England, Scotland, and Ireland (1685–88); second son of Charles I, brother and successor of Charles II. James made an effort to restore himself by landing in Irel...

Webster, Daniel

(Encyclopedia)Webster, Daniel, 1782–1852, American statesman, lawyer, and orator, b. Salisbury (now in Franklin), N.H. As a U.S. Senator from Massachusetts (1827–41), he became a leading political figure of t...

Calvin, John

(Encyclopedia)Calvin, John, 1509–64, French Protestant theologian of the Reformation, b. Noyon, Picardy. The extension of Calvinism to all spheres of human activity was extremely important to a world emerging f...

Watergate affair

(Encyclopedia)Watergate affair, in U.S. history, series of scandals involving the administration of President Richard M. Nixon; more specifically, the burglarizing of the Democratic party national headquarters in t...

Thomas à Becket, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Thomas à Becket, Saint, or Saint Thomas Becket, 1118–70, English martyr, archbishop of Canterbury, b. London. He is called St. Thomas of Canterbury and occasionally St. Thomas of London. In exi...