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Blitzstein, Marc

(Encyclopedia)Blitzstein, Marc (Marcus Samuel Blitzstein), 1905–64, American composer, pianist, and librettist, b. Philadelphia. After attending the Univ. of Pennsylvania and the Curtis Institute of Music, he stu...

Salinas de Gortari, Carlos

(Encyclopedia)Salinas de Gortari, Carlos, 1948–, president of Mexico (1988–94). A Harvard-educated political economist, he became minister of planning and the budget (1982–87) and succeeded Miguel de la Madri...

European Parliament

(Encyclopedia)European Parliament, an institution of the governing body of the European Union (EU). It convenes on a monthly basis in Strasbourg, France; most meetings of the separate parliamentary committees are h...

Groves, Leslie Richard

(Encyclopedia)Groves, Leslie Richard, 1896–1970, American army officer and engineer who headed the program that developed America's atomic bomb, b. Albany, N.Y., grad. West Point (1918). He was commissioned in th...

National Security Agency

(Encyclopedia)National Security Agency (NSA), an independent agency within the U.S. Dept. of Defense. Founded by presidential order in 1952, its primary functions are to collect and analyze communications intellige...

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)...

Laird, Melvin Robert

(Encyclopedia)Laird, Melvin Robert, 1922–2016, American politician, U.S. secretary of defense (1969–73), b. Omaha, Nebr. After serving (1942–46) in the navy during World War II, he entered politics as a Repub...

Samaras, Antonis

(Encyclopedia)Samaras, Antonis äntōˈnēs sämäräsˈ [key], 1951–, Greek political leader, premier of Greece (2012–15), b. Athens, grad. Amherst (1974), Harvard (M.B.A., 1976). He was first elected to parli...

Sanders, Bernie

(Encyclopedia)Sanders, Bernie (Bernard Sanders), 1941–, American politician, b. Brooklyn, N.Y. The son of Jewish immigrants from Poland, he spent a year at Brooklyn...

Coppola, Francis Ford

(Encyclopedia)Coppola, Francis Ford kōˈpəˌlə [key], 1939–, American film director, b. Detroit. Coppola began his career directing low-budget films and working on screenplays for other directors. He won his f...