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World Meteorological Organization

(Encyclopedia) World Meteorological Organization (WMO), specialized agency of the United Nations; established in 1950 with headquarters at Geneva, it became affiliated with the United Nations a year later. It replac...

William II, king of Sicily

(Encyclopedia) William II (William the Good), c.1153–1189, king of Sicily (1166–89), son and successor of William I. He married (1177) Joan, daughter of Henry II of England. As an ally of Pope Alexander III and ...

WAC

(Encyclopedia) WAC (Women's Army Corps), U.S. army organization created (1942) during World War II to enlist women as auxiliaries for noncombatant duty in the U.S. army. Before 1943 it was known as the Women's Auxil...

Hohenfriedeberg

(Encyclopedia) Hohenfriedeberg hōˌənfrēˈdəbərk [key], Pol. Dobromierz, town, Dolnośląskie prov., SW Poland. In 1745 it was the site of the victory of Frederick II of Prussia over the Austrian and Saxon forc...

Potsdam

(Encyclopedia) Potsdam pŏtsˈdăm [key], city (1994 pop. 139,262), capital of Brandenburg, E Germany, on the Havel River, near Berlin. It is an industrial center and rail junction. Manufactures include processed fo...

Innocent II

(Encyclopedia) Innocent II, d. 1143, pope (1130–43), a Roman named Gregorio Papareschi; successor of Honorius II. He was created cardinal by Paschal II. On the death of Honorius II, a faction of the cardinals elec...

aircraft carrier

(Encyclopedia) aircraft carrier, ship designed to carry aircraft and to permit takeoff and landing of planes. The carrier's distinctive features are a upper deck (flight deck) that is flat and sometimes sloped to fu...

World Trade Center

(Encyclopedia) World Trade Center, former building complex in lower Manhattan, New York City, consisting of seven buildings and a shopping concourse on a 16-acre (6.5-hectare) site; it was destroyed by a terrorist a...

Mahmud II

(Encyclopedia) Mahmud II, 1784–1839, Ottoman sultan (1808–39), younger son of Abd al-Hamid I. He was raised to the throne of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) upon the deposition of his brother, Mustafa IV, and contin...

excess profits tax

(Encyclopedia) excess profits tax, levy on any profit above a standard level. Chiefly a wartime phenomenon, it is intended to increase revenue during periods of distress and to prevent businessmen from taking unfair...
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