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Maxwell, Robert

(Encyclopedia)Maxwell, Robert (Ian Robert Maxwell), 1923–91, British business executive, b. Czechoslovakia as Jan Ludwik Hoch. He grew up in a tight-knit Jewish community. After fleeing the Nazis in 1939, Maxwell...

Lesseps, Ferdinand Marie, vicomte de

(Encyclopedia)Lesseps, Ferdinand Marie, vicomte de fĕrdēnäNˈ märēˈ vēkôNtˈ də lĕsĕpsˈ [key], 1805–94, French diplomat and engineer. He entered the consular service in 1825 and was minister to Spain ...

Federal National Mortgage Association

(Encyclopedia)Federal National Mortgage Association (FMNA), commonly known as Fannie Mae, government-sponsored enterprise that is the largest purchaser and guarantor of home mortgages in the country. Headquartered ...

Shays's Rebellion

(Encyclopedia)Shays's Rebellion, 1786–87, armed insurrection by farmers in W Massachusetts against the state government. Debt-ridden farmers, struck by the economic depression that followed the American Revolutio...

debt

(Encyclopedia)debt, obligation in services, money, or goods owed by one party, the debtor, to another, the creditor. When contested, debts are collected by a civil suit upon which the judge renders a judgment, and ...

Northern Pacific Railway

(Encyclopedia)Northern Pacific Railway, former American rail line, following the northern route from Duluth and St. Paul, Minn., to Seattle, Wash., and Portland, Oreg. The Northern Pacific RR Company was chartered ...

Baring

(Encyclopedia)Baring bârˈĭng [key], British family of bankers. Sir Francis Baring (1740–1810) founded (1763) the John and Francis Baring Company, which he renamed Baring Brothers and Company in 1806. At first ...

Bailey, F. Lee

(Encyclopedia) Bailey, F. Lee (Francis Lee Bailey), 1933-2021, American lawyer, b. Waltham, Ma., Boston Univ. Law School (J.D., 1960). Bailey attended Harvard for two...

Koch, Edward Irving

(Encyclopedia)Koch, Edward Irving kŏch [key], 1924–2013, U.S. politician, mayor of New York City (1977–89), b. New York City. After receiving his law degree (New York Univ., 1948), he practiced as a lawyer, be...

breast implant

(Encyclopedia)breast implant, saline- or silicone-filled prosthesis used after mastectomy as a part of the breast reconstruction process or used cosmetically to augment small breasts. An implant consists of a fluid...

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