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Thirty Years War

(Encyclopedia)Thirty Years War, 1618–48, general European war fought mainly in Germany. The general results of the war may be said to have been a tremendous decrease in German population; devastation of G...

Howell, John Adams

(Encyclopedia)Howell, John Adams, 1840–1918, American naval officer and inventor, b. Bath, N.Y., grad. Annapolis, 1858. He served as a lieutenant throughout the Civil War, fighting under Admiral Farragut at Mobil...

Melilla

(Encyclopedia)Melilla mālēˈlyä [key], autonomous city (2011 pop. 81,323), 5 sq mi (13 sq km), Spanish possession on the Mediterranean coast of Morocco, NW Africa. Administered directly by the Spanish government...

World War II

(Encyclopedia)World War II, 1939–45, worldwide conflict involving every major power in the world. The two sides were generally known as the Allies and the Axis. Although hostilities came to an end in Sept...

Gridley, Charles Vernon

(Encyclopedia)Gridley, Charles Vernon, 1844–98, U.S. naval officer, b. Logansport, Ind. After serving in the Civil War, he continued in naval service. He was flagship commander under Commodore Dewey at Manila in ...

Spanish-American literature

(Encyclopedia)Spanish-American literature, the writings of both the European explorers of Spanish America and its later inhabitants. See also Spanish literature; Portuguese literature; Brazilian literature. T...

Madariaga, Salvador de

(Encyclopedia)Madariaga, Salvador de (Salvador de Madariaga y Rojo) sälväᵺōrˈ dā mäᵺäryäˈgä ē rōˈhō [key], 1886–1978, Spanish author and diplomat. In 1922 Madariaga became head of the disarmamen...

decorations, civil and military

(Encyclopedia)decorations, civil and military, honors bestowed by a government to reward services or achievements, particularly those implying valor. The practice of bestowing such decorations dates back at least t...

International Civil Aviation Organization

(Encyclopedia)International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), specialized agency of the United Nations, organized in 1947, with headquarters at Montreal. The objective of the ICAO, which has 190 member nations, i...

Bernanos, Georges

(Encyclopedia)Bernanos, Georges zhôrzh bĕrnänōsˈ [key], 1888–1948, French novelist and polemicist. Profoundly Catholic, Bernanos attacked modern materialism and advocated a moral and ethical order based on t...