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Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden , 1957?-, Saudi-born leader of Al Qaeda [Arab.,=the base], a terrorist organization devoted to uniting all Muslims and establishing a transnational, strict-fundamentalist Islamic state. The youngest son of a wealthy Yemeni-born businessman, bin Laden was trained as a civil engineer (...
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Strategic Defense Initiative
Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), U.S. government program responsible for research and development of a space-based system to defend the nation from attack by strategic ballistic missiles (see guided missile ). The program is now administered by the Missile Defense Agency (originally the Strateg...
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shad
shad fish, Alosa sapidissima, of the family Clupeidae ( herring family), found along the Atlantic coast from Newfoundland to Florida and successfully introduced on the Pacific coast. The shad is one of the largest (6 lb/2.7 kg average) of the herrings and has delicious but bony flesh; its roe is...
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African Union
African Union (AU), international organization established in 2002 by the nations of the former Organization of African Unity (OAU). The AU is the successor organization to the OAU, with greater powers to promote African economic, social, and political integration, and a stronger commmitment to d...
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James Barrett Reston
James Barrett Reston (Scotty Reston), 1909-95, American journalist, b. Clydebank, Scotland. His family emigrated to the United States in 1920. After working briefly for the Springfield (Ohio) Daily News, he joined the Associated Press in 1934. He moved to the London bureau of the New York Times ...
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Muhammad Zahir Shah
Muhammad Zahir Shah , 1914-2007, last king of Afghanistan. In 1933 he became king after his father, Muhammad Nadir Shah, was assassinated. During his reign power was exercised mainly by the king's uncles and a cousin, serving as prime ministers, until 1963, when the king asserted his power. Zahir Sh...
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Rocky Marciano
Rocky Marciano , 1924-69, American boxer, b. Brockton, Mass. His real name was Rocco Francis Marchegiano. Failing to become a professional baseball player, Marciano turned to boxing and won 27 of 30 amateur bouts before he turned professional in 1947. On his climb to the heavyweight title, Marciano ...
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P. J. Patterson
P. J. Patterson (Percival James Patterson), 1935-, Jamaican political leader, prime minister of Jamaica (1992-2006). A lawyer, he became an active member of the People's National party (PNP) in the 1950s. From 1972 to 1980 Patterson held various ministerial posts, including minister of finance. In ...
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Andrei Dmitriyevich Sakharov
Andrei Dmitriyevich Sakharov 1921-89, Soviet nuclear physicist and human-rights advocate; first Soviet citizen to receive the Nobel Peace Prize (1975). From 1948 to 1956 he helped to develop the USSR's hydrogen bomb. In the 1960s he became a critic of the arms race and of Soviet repression. In 1980...
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Pete Sampras
Pete Sampras , 1971-, American tennis player, b. Washington, D.C. Learning the game in the Los Angeles area, he rose to world tennis supremacy after becoming the youngest man to win the U.S. Open, in 1990. Tall and long-armed, he was noted for his powerful serve and overhead as well as for his fluid...
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