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Adolf of Nassau

(Encyclopedia)Adolf of Nassau näˈsou [key], d. 1298, duke of Luxembourg, German king (1292–98). He owed his election to the ecclesiastical electors, who, fearing the growing power and ambition of the Hapsburgs,...

Yameen, Abdullah

(Encyclopedia)Yameen, Abdullah (Abdullah Yameen Abdul Gayoom), 1959–, Maldivian politician, president of the Maldives (2013–18). The half-brother of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who was president from 1978 to 2008, Ya...

Vienna, Congress of

(Encyclopedia)Vienna, Congress of, Sept., 1814–June, 1815, one of the most important international conferences in European history, called to remake Europe after the downfall of Napoleon I. Although the territo...

hydrocarbon

(Encyclopedia)hydrocarbon hīˌdrōkärˈbən [key], any organic compound composed solely of the elements hydrogen and carbon. The hydrocarbons differ both in the total number of carbon and hydrogen atoms in their ...

Steenkerque

(Encyclopedia)Steenkerque stānkĕrkˈ [key], Du. Steenkerke, village, Hainaut prov., S Belgium, near Mons. There, in 1692, the French under Marshal François Henri de Luxembourg defeated William III of England in ...

Delian League

(Encyclopedia)Delian League dēˈlēən [key], confederation of Greek city-states under the leadership of Athens. The name is used to designate two distinct periods of alliance, the first 478–404 b.c., the second...

cyano group

(Encyclopedia)cyano group sīˈənō, sī-ănˈō [key], in chemistry, functional group that consists of a carbon atom joined to a nitrogen atom by a triple bond; it can be joined to an atom or another group by a s...

Danby, Thomas Osborne, earl of

(Encyclopedia)Danby, Thomas Osborne, earl of, 1631–1712, English statesman. Under the patronage of the 2d duke of Buckingham, he was appointed treasurer of the navy (1668), a privy councilor (1672), and lord trea...

Victor Amadeus II

(Encyclopedia)Victor Amadeus II ămədēˈəs [key], 1666–1732, duke of Savoy (1675–1713), king of Sicily (1713–20), king of Sardinia (1720–30). Succeeding his father, Charles Emmanuel II, as duke of Savoy,...

Sá Carneiro, Francisco

(Encyclopedia)Sá Carneiro, Francisco, 1934–80, Portuguese political leader. A liberal reformer, he founded the Social Democratic party in 1974, following the coup that ended repression in Portugal, and in 1979 f...