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Watson, Thomas John, Jr.

(Encyclopedia)Watson, Thomas John, Jr., 1914–93, American industrialist, b. Dayton, Ohio. The son of Thomas John Watson, Sr., the founder of the International Business Machines Corp. (IBM), he joined the family b...

Berlin airlift

(Encyclopedia)Berlin airlift, 1948–49, supply of vital necessities to West Berlin by air transport primarily under U.S. auspices. It was initiated in response to a land and water blockade of the city that had bee...

Latvia

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Latvia lătˈvēə [key], Latvian Latvija, officially Republic of Latvia, republic (2015 est. pop. 1,993,000), 24,590 sq mi (63,688 sq km), north central Europe. It borders on Estonia in the no...

Budapest

(Encyclopedia)Budapest bo͞oˈdəpĕstˌ [key], city (2020 est. pop. 1,768,000), capital of Hungary, N central ...

Turkistan

(Encyclopedia)Turkistan or Turkestan both: tûrkˌĭstănˈ, –stänˈ [key], historic region of central Asia. Western, or Russian, Turkistan extended from the Caspian Sea in the west to the Chinese frontier in th...

secret police

(Encyclopedia)secret police, policing organization operating in secrecy for the political purposes of its government, often with terroristic procedures. Many states, including Chile, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Romania,...

Kirov, Sergei Mironovich

(Encyclopedia)Kirov, Sergei Mironovich syĭrgāˈ mērôˈnəvĭch kēˈrəf [key], 1888–1934, Russian Soviet leader. He fought in the civil war of 1918–20 and rose to power as one of Stalin's most trusted aide...

Kania, Stanisław

(Encyclopedia)Kania, Stanisław stənēēˈswäf käˈnyə [key], 1927–2020, Polish political leader. He joined the Communist party in 1945, becoming a member of the Central Committee in 1968 and of the Politburo...

Anschluss

(Encyclopedia)Anschluss änˈshlo͝os [key], German term designating the incorporation of Austria into Germany in the 1930s. Anschluss was first advocated by Austrian Social Democrats. The 1919 peace treaty of St. ...

Denikin, Anton Ivanovich

(Encyclopedia)Denikin, Anton Ivanovich əntônˈ ēväˈnəvĭch dyĭnyēˈkĭn [key], 1872–1947, Russian general. The son of a serf, he rose from the ranks. After the Bolshevik Revolution in Nov., 1917 (Oct., 19...