|
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), former specialized agency of the United Nations. It was established in 1948 as an interim measure pending the creation of the International Trade Organization. However, plans for the latter were abandoned and GATT continued to exist until the end of 19...
Read more
|
|
|
James Bradley
James Bradley 1693-1762, English astronomer. His discovery of the aberration of light, announced in 1728, provided an important line of evidence for the motion of the earth around the sun. In 1742 Bradley became the third Astronomer Royal. Under his direction the observatory at Greenwich was suppli...
Read more
|
|
|
Third Lateran Council
Third Lateran Council 1179, 11th ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. It was convened at the Lateran Palace, Rome, by Pope Alexander III after the Peace of Venice (1178) had reconciled him with Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I. It was well attended and included an envoy from the Orthodox ...
Read more
|
|
|
protection
protection practice of regulating imports and exports with the purpose of shielding domestic industries from foreign competition. To accomplish that end, certain imports may be excluded entirely, import quotas may be established, or bounties paid on certain exports. One method is to impose duties o...
Read more
|
|
|
Cranston
Cranston industrial city (1990 pop. 76,060), Providence co., central R.I., a residential suburb of Providence; inc. as a town 1754, as a city 1910. Its manufactures include machinery, plastics, rubber products, and chemicals. The city was named for Samuel Cranston, a colonial governor of Rhode Isla...
Read more
|
|
|
Spahis
Spahis or Sipahis , Ottoman cavalry . The Spahis were organized in the 14th cent. on a feudal basis. The officers held fiefs ( timars ) granted to them by the sultan and commanded the personal loyalty of the peasants who worked the land. The Spahis were entitled to all income from the fief in r...
Read more
|
|
|
port
port a natural or artificial harbor and its terminal facilities for the transfer of goods and passengers to or from waterborne means of transport. Port cities are located on oceans, lakes, rivers, and canals in places where access to the hinterland provides a large volume of commerce. The importanc...
Read more
|
|
|
Summit
Summit city (1990 pop. 19,757), Union co., NE N.J., a residential suburb of the New York City-N New Jersey metropolitan area; settled c.1720, set off from Springfield and New Providence and inc. 1869. Pharmaceuticals are made, and several major companies have research facilities there. Situated on ...
Read more
|
|
|
Theophrastus
Theophrastus [Gr.,=divinely speaking], c.372-c.287 BC, Greek philosopher, Aristotle's successor as head of the Peripatetics . The school flourished under his leadership. He wrote on many subjects, but his works on plants are perhaps the most important of his technical writings. His Characters, a...
Read more
|
|
|
Vaal
Vaal , river, c.750 mi (1,210 km) long, rising in Mpumalanga, NE South Africa, and flowing SW to the Orange River. It forms most of the northern border of the Free State . The river's flow is almost totally regulated and provides water power for industries on the Witwatersrand . Vaal Dam, one of t...
Read more
|
