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Western European Union

(Encyclopedia)Western European Union (WEU), European security and defense organization. It was set up in Brussels in 1955 as a defensive, economic, social, and cultural organization, consisting of Belgium, France, ...

Western Michigan University

(Encyclopedia)Western Michigan University, at Kalamazoo, Mich.; coeducational; founded in 1903 as Western State Normal School, became accredited in 1927 as a college, gained university status in 1957. The universit...

Aves Island

(Encyclopedia)Aves Island äˈvĕs [key] or Bird Island, Span. Isla de Aves, small, low-lying sand and coral island, a dependency of Venezuela, in the E Caribbean Sea 380 mi (610 km) N of the Venezuelan mainland. V...

Fort Riley

(Encyclopedia)Fort Riley, U.S. military post, 5,760 acres (2,331 hectares), NE Kans., on the Kansas River; est. 1852 to protect travelers on the Santa Fe Trail from attack by Native Americans. Located near the geog...

clearing

(Encyclopedia)clearing, in banking, the periodic settling of bankers' claims against each other, for which local banks establish clearinghouse associations. Clearinghouses are said to have existed in Florence by a....

Namib-Naukluft National Park

(Encyclopedia)Namib-Naukluft National Park, 19,216 sq mi (49,768 sq km), W Namibia, encompassing parts of the Namib Desert and the Naukluft mountain range. It was established in 1979 when the Namib Desert Park (beg...

Cardwell, Edward Cardwell, Viscount

(Encyclopedia)Cardwell, Edward Cardwell, Viscount, 1813–86, British statesman. He entered Parliament (1842) as a supporter of Sir Robert Peel, under whom he was secretary to the treasury (1845–46). He was presi...

United States Merchant Marine Academy

(Encyclopedia)United States Merchant Marine Academy, at Kings Point, N.Y.; for the training of merchant marine officers; established 1936, opened 1943. The academy became coeducational in 1974. Candidates must be b...

greenback

(Encyclopedia)greenback, in U.S. history, legal tender notes unsecured by specie (coin). In 1862, under the exigencies of the Civil War, the U.S. government first issued legal tender notes (popularly called greenba...
 

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