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Brezhnev, Leonid Ilyich

(Encyclopedia)Brezhnev, Leonid Ilyich lāyōnēdˈ ĭlyēchˈ brĕzhˈnĕf [key], 1906–82, Soviet leader. He joined (1931) the Communist party and rose steadily in its hierarchy. In 1952 he became a secretary of ...

Byrnes, James Francis

(Encyclopedia)Byrnes, James Francis, 1879–1972, American public official, Secretary of State (1945–47), governor of South Carolina (1951–55), b. Charleston, S.C. He studied law while working (1900–1908) as ...

Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen

(Encyclopedia)Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, a fundamental document of French constitutional history, drafted by Emmanuel Sieyès, adopted by the Constituent Assembly on Aug. 26, 1789, and embodied i...

Kennan, George Frost

(Encyclopedia)Kennan, George Frost, 1904–2005, U.S. diplomat and historian, b. Milwaukee, Wis., grad. Princeton, 1925. A brilliant strategist and among the most influential and intellectual Americans in the 20th-...

Freire, Paulo

(Encyclopedia)Freire, Paulo pouˈlō frārˈ [key], 1921–97, Brazilian educator. After his exile from Brazil following the military coup in 1964, Freire taught in Chile and was a consultant to UNESCO. He later ta...

Erlander, Tage Fritiof

(Encyclopedia)Erlander, Tage Fritiof täˈgə frĭtˈyəf ĕrˈländər [key], 1901–85, Swedish socialist leader, prime minister of Sweden (1946–69). On the editorial staff of the encyclopedia Svensk Upplagsbok...

Lady of the Lake

(Encyclopedia)Lady of the Lake, in Arthurian legend, a misty, supernatural figure endowed with magic powers, who gave the sword Excalibur to King Arthur. She inhabited a castle in an underwater kingdom. According t...

law of the sea

(Encyclopedia)law of the sea: see maritime law; sea, law of the; seas, freedom of the. ...

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