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Pierpont, Francis Harrison

(Encyclopedia)Pierpont, Francis Harrison, 1814–99, Union leader in Virginia during the American Civil War, “Father of West Virginia,” b. near Morgantown, Va. (now W.Va.). When Virginia seceded, he became a le...

Rakhmon, Emomali

(Encyclopedia)Rakhmon, Emomali, 1952–, Tajik political leader. His surname was Rahkmonov until 2007, when he called for Tajiks to revive their traditions and derussify their names. Rakhmon was the head of a state...

Pearson, Drew

(Encyclopedia)Pearson, Drew, 1897–1969, American journalist and radio commentator, b. Evanston, Ill. He traveled around the world as a correspondent before joining the Baltimore Sun in 1926. Pearson gained nation...

Echeverría Álvarez, Luis

(Encyclopedia)Echeverría Álvarez, Luis lo͞oēsˈ āchāvār-rēˈä älˈvärās [key], 1922–, president of Mexico (1970–76). A lawyer, he was formerly a law professor. As a member of the ruling Institutiona...

Déby, Idriss

(Encyclopedia)Déby, Idriss ĭdrĭsˈ dĕbēˈ [key], 1952–2021, Chadian military and political leader, president ...

Ciskei

(Encyclopedia)Ciskei sĭskīˈ [key], former black “homeland” and nominal republic, SE South Africa, in what is now Eastern Cape prov. Surrounded by the former Cape Province of South Africa, it consisted of two...

city-state

(Encyclopedia)city-state, in ancient Greece, Italy, and Medieval Europe, an independent political unit consisting of a city and surrounding countryside. The first city-states were in Sumer, but they reached their p...

Kisangani

(Encyclopedia)Kisangani kēsangäˈnē [key], formerly Stanleyville, city (1996 est. pop. 500,000), capital of Tshopo prov., N central Congo (Kinshasa), a port on the Congo River. The city is the terminus of steame...

Papandreou, George, 1952–, Greek political leader

(Encyclopedia)Papandreou, George (Georgios Andreou Papandreou) päˌpəndrāˈo͞o [key], 1952–, Greek political leader, b. Minnesota. The son of Andreas Papandreou and grandson of George Papandreou (1888–1968)...

Whitlam, Gough

(Encyclopedia)Whitlam, Gough gŏf [key], 1916–2014, Australian political leader. Edward Gough Whitlam studied law and entered practice near Sydney after serving in World War II. A member of the Labour party, he w...