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Kováč, Michal

(Encyclopedia)Kováč, Michal mēˈkäl kōˈväch [key], 1929–2016, Slovak political leader, first president of independent Slovakia (1993–98). An economist, he worked in the banking sector, served as Czechosl...

Arana Osorio, Carlos

(Encyclopedia)Arana Osorio, Carlos kärˈlōs äräˈnä ōsōˈryō [key], 1918–2003, president of Guatemala (1970–74). A conservative army colonel noted for his successes during an antiguerrilla campaign (196...

Beke, Charles Tilstone

(Encyclopedia)Beke, Charles Tilstone bēk [key], 1800–1874, English explorer and author. In Ethiopia in 1840–43 he mapped c.70,000 sq mi (181,300 sq km) of the country, determined the approximate course of the ...

Xingu

(Encyclopedia)Xingu zĭng-go͞oˈ, Port. shēng-go͞oˈ [key], river, 1,230 mi (1,979 km) long, rising in central Mato Grosso state, Brazil, and winding north across Pará state into the Amazon River at the head of...

Castelar y Ripoll, Emilio

(Encyclopedia)Castelar y Ripoll, Emilio āmēˈlyō kästālärˈ ē rēpōˈlyə [key], 1832–99, Spanish statesman and author. A professor of history and philosophy at the Univ. of Madrid and a republican leader...

Buganda

(Encyclopedia)Buganda, kingdom, E Africa: see Baganda; Uganda. ...

Grain Coast

(Encyclopedia)Grain Coast, W Africa, former name of a part of the Atlantic coast that is roughly identical with the coast of modern Liberia. In the 15th cent. “grains of paradise,” i.e., seeds of the melegueta ...

KwaZulu

(Encyclopedia)KwaZulu, South Africa: see KwaZulu-Natal; Zululand. ...

Tshwane

(Encyclopedia)Tshwane, South Africa: see Pretoria; Tshwane, City of. ...

Downing, Andrew Jackson

(Encyclopedia)Downing, Andrew Jackson, 1815–52, American horticulturist, rural architect, and landscape gardener, b. Newburgh, N.Y. With his brother Charles Downing, 1802–85, he took over the operation of the n...