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Halifax, Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, 1st earl of

(Encyclopedia)Halifax, Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, 1st earl of, 1881–1959, British statesman. He entered the House of Commons (1910) as a Conservative and was president of the Board of Education (1922–24) an...

Grand Alliance, War of the

(Encyclopedia)Grand Alliance, War of the, 1688–97, war between France and a coalition of European powers, known as the League of Augsburg (and, after 1689, as the Grand Alliance). Louis XIV of France took advanta...

Peter I, king of Serbia

(Encyclopedia)Peter I, 1844–1921, king of Serbia (1903–18) and king of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (1918–21), son of Prince Alexander of Serbia (Alexander Karadjordjević). He was brought up in exile in G...

Milan, prince and king of Serbia

(Encyclopedia)Milan (Milan Obrenović) mĭlˈän ōbrĕˈnəvĭch [key], 1854–1901, prince (1868–82) and king (1882–89) of Serbia; grandnephew of Miloš Obrenović. He succeeded his cousin Michael Obrenović ...

Thebes , city of ancient Greece

(Encyclopedia)Thebes, chief city of Boeotia, in ancient Greece. It was originally a Mycenaean city. Thebes is rich in associations with Greek legend and religion (see Oedipus; the Seven against Thebes; Epigoni). So...

Mackensen, August von

(Encyclopedia)Mackensen, August von ouˈgo͝ost fən mäˈkənzən [key], 1849–1945, German field marshal. In World War I he defeated the Russians in the battle of the Masurian Lakes (1914–15), conducted succes...

John III, king of Poland

(Encyclopedia)John III (John Sobieski) sôbyĕˈskē [key], 1624–96, king of Poland (1674–96), champion of Christian Europe against the Ottomans. Born to an ancient noble family, he was appointed (1668) command...

International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes

(Encyclopedia)International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), specialized agency of the United Nations. A member of the World Bank Group (see International Bank for Reconstruction and Developmen...

Urban League, National

(Encyclopedia)Urban League, National, voluntary nonpartisan community service agency, founded in 1910, whose goal is to help end racial segregation and discrimination in the United States, especially toward African...

Schulenburg, Ehrengard Melusina von der, duchess of Kendal

(Encyclopedia)Schulenburg, Ehrengard Melusina von der, duchess of Kendal āˈrəngärt mālo͞ozēˈnä fən dĕr sho͞oˈlənbo͝orkh [key], 1667–1743, German mistress of George I of England. She became his mist...