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Somoza Debayle, Anastasio

(Encyclopedia)Somoza Debayle, Anastasio änästäsˈyō sōmōˈsä ᵺābīˈlā [key], 1925–80, president of Nicaragua (1967–72, 1974—79). The younger son of dictator Anastasio Somoza, he was educated in th...

Singh, Vishwanath Pratap

(Encyclopedia)Singh, Vishwanath Pratap sĭng [key], 1931–2008, Indian politician and prime minister (1989–90). As finance minister under Rajiv Gandhi (1984–87) he pursued policies of economic liberalization....

stamp tax

(Encyclopedia)stamp tax, method of collecting duties on certain transactions by means of a validating stamp attached to the taxable instrument, which may be a judicial act, a commercial document, a transfer of prop...

Swammerdam, Jan

(Encyclopedia)Swammerdam, Jan yän väˈmərdäm [key], 1637–80, Dutch naturalist. He was a pioneer in the use of the microscope. Before he turned to religious contemplation his chief interest was the study of in...

Bordaberry Arocena, Juan María

(Encyclopedia)Bordaberry Arocena, Juan María, 1928–2011, Uruguayan politician. Born into a wealthy and politically conservative family, he was elected (1962) senator as a member of the National party. Switching ...

Biya, Paul

(Encyclopedia)Biya, Paul bēyĕ [key], 1933–, Cameroonian political leader. Educated in Cameroon and France, where he studied at the Sorbonne and other institutions, he joined Cameroon's civil service in 1962. Af...

Capo d'Istria, Giovanni Antonio, Count

(Encyclopedia)Capo d'Istria, Giovanni Antonio, Count käˈpō dēˈstrēä [key], Gr. Joannes Antonios Capodistrias or Kapodistrias, 1776–1831, Greek and Russian statesman, b. Corfu. After administrative work in ...

Bennett, Richard Bedford

(Encyclopedia)Bennett, Richard Bedford, 1870–1947, Canadian prime minister, b. Hopewell, N.B. In 1927 he succeeded Arthur Meighen as leader of the Conservative party; upon the defeat of the Liberals in 1930, he b...

Muslim League

(Encyclopedia)Muslim League, political organization of India and Pakistan, founded 1906 as the All-India Muslim League by Aga Khan III. Its original purpose was to safeguard the political rights of Muslims in India...

Clarendon, Edward Hyde, 1st earl of

(Encyclopedia)Clarendon, Edward Hyde, 1st earl of klârˈəndən [key], 1609–74, English statesman and historian. Elected (1640) to the Short and Long parliaments, he was at first associated with the opposition t...