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Komi Republic

(Encyclopedia)Komi Republic, constituent republic (1990 pop. 1,270,000), c.160,000 sq mi (414,400 sq km), NE European Russia. Syktyvkar is the capital. The region is a wooded lowland, stretching across the Pechora ...

Frederick William, elector of Brandenburg

(Encyclopedia)Frederick William, known as the Great Elector, 1620–88, elector of Brandenburg (1640–88), son and successor of George William. At his accession the scattered lands of the Hohenzollern were devasta...

Preah Vihear

(Encyclopedia)Preah Vihear prä wēˈhän [key], Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva, N central Cambodia near the Thai border. Situated on the edge of a plateau overlooking the N Cambodian plain, the temple was begun i...

Phoenix Islands

(Encyclopedia)Phoenix Islands, group of eight islands, 11 sq mi (28 sq km), central Pacific, N of Samoa. The chain comprises a portion of Kiribati. The two most important are Kanton (or Abariringa) and Enderbury Is...

Wriston, Walter Bigelow

(Encyclopedia)Wriston, Walter Bigelow, 1919–2005, American banker, b. Middletown, Conn., grad. Wesleyan (B.A., 1941); Fletcher School, Tufts Univ. (M.A., 1942). Widely considered the most important and influentia...

Stuart, Robert, 1st duke of Albany

(Encyclopedia)Stuart or Stewart, Robert, 1st duke of Albany, 1340?–1420, regent of Scotland; third son of Robert II. As earl of Fife and Monteith, he held commands under his father and more than once raided Engla...

sphere of influence

(Encyclopedia)sphere of influence, term formerly applied to an area over which an outside power claims hegemony with the intention of subsequently gaining more definite control, as in colonization, or with the inte...

Blackstone, Sir William

(Encyclopedia)Blackstone, Sir William, 1723–80, English jurist. At first unsuccessful in legal practice, he turned to scholarship and teaching. He became (1758) the first Vinerian professor of law at Oxford, wher...

Murray, Lindley

(Encyclopedia)Murray, Lindley, 1745–1826, American grammarian, b. Pennsylvania. Murray practiced law until the Revolution, during which he acquired a fortune, and in 1784 went to live in England. A Quaker ministe...

tie-dyeing

(Encyclopedia)tie-dyeing, dyeing method used by hand-loom weavers of ancient times. It became popular during the craft revival of the 1960s. The fabric to be colored is tied or knotted at intervals before being pla...