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Peace Corps
Peace Corps agency of the U.S. government, whose purpose is to assist underdeveloped countries in meeting their needs for trained manpower. The Peace Corps was established in 1961 by executive order of President Kennedy; Congress approved it as a permanent agency within the Dept. of State the same ...
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United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps military corps that forms a separate service within the U.S. Dept. of the Navy. The commandant of the Marine Corps is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff . During conflicts, the Corps is charged with conducting all land operations essential to the successful prosecutio...
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Janissaries
Janissaries [Turk.,=recruits], elite corps in the service of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey). It was composed of war captives and Christian youths pressed into service; all the recruits were converted to Islam and trained under the strictest discipline. It was originally organized by Sultan Murad I. Th...
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Louis Burt Mayer
Louis Burt Mayer 1885-1957, American movie producer, b. Russia. Mayer began (1907) as the operator of a theater in Haverhill, Mass., gradually gaining control of all the theaters in the city. In 1924 he merged his Louis B. Mayer Corp. with Metro Pictures Corp., and eventually with Goldwyn Pictures ...
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Edward Otho Cresap Ord
Edward Otho Cresap Ord 1818-83, Union general in the American Civil War, b. Cumberland, Md. He commanded a brigade in Virginia (1861-62), was promoted to major general of volunteers, and fought at Iuka and Corinth, Miss. (1862). In the last stage of the Vicksburg campaign (1863), Ord led the 13th C...
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WAC
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 Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC). Its first director was Oveta Culp Hobby . During World War II, WACs served...
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Asaph
Asaph , in the Bible. 1 Choirmaster of David's time, or the eponym of a corps of singers. His name is attached to a little collection of psalms. 2 The same as Abiasaph . 3 Father of a chronicler. 4 King's forester in the Book of Nehemiah.
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Civilian Conservation Corps
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), established in 1933 by the U.S. Congress as a measure of the New Deal program. The CCC provided work and vocational training for unemployed single young men through conserving and developing the country's natural resources. At its peak in 1935, the organization ha...
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Virginia Military Institute
Virginia Military Institute (VMI), at Lexington; state supported; chartered and opened 1839 as the first state military college in the United States. Although one of the leading U.S. military institutions, it grants degrees in engineering, science, and the liberal arts. During the Civil War, the in...
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Charles Erwin Wilson
Charles Erwin Wilson 1890-1961, American industrialist and cabinet officer, b. Minerva, Ohio. He was an electrical engineer with Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company from 1909 to 1919 and designed the first automobile starters made by Westinghouse. In 1919 he joined General Motors Corp.,...
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