A. J. Foyt
(1935– )US motor racing driver, who has won more races and set more records in many different types of cars and events than any other driver.Foyt was born in Houston Heights, Texas, and grew up in a ...
Aaland Islands
Some 6,500 islands in the Gulf of Bothnia, between Finland and Sweden. They were part of Sweden until 1809, when, together with Finland, they were annexed by Russia. After the collapse of the Russian ...
Abd al-Ilah ibn Ali ibn Hussein
(b. 1912, d. 14 July 1958).Regent of Iraq Born in Hejaz as the grandson of Hussein ibn Ali, he became regent of Iraq for his 4-year-old cousin Faisal II, after the death of his brother-in-law, King ...
Abdelaziz Bouteflika
(b. 2 Mar. 1937).Algerian President, 1999– Born in Morocco, he joined the Front de Libération Nationale (FLN) in 1956. Following independence he served as Foreign Minister (1962–79) under Ben Bella ...
Abdou Diouf
(b. 7 Mar. 1935).President of Senegal 1981–2000 Born in Louga, he was educated at the University of Dakar, and graduated in law from the University of Paris. Upon his return to Senegal he became the ...
Abdul Karim Qassem
(b. 1914, d. 9 Feb. 1963).Iraqi ruler 1958–63 Born in Baghdad as the son of a carpenter, he joined the Iraqi army and rose to the rank of brigadier. Strongly nationalist and anti‐British, Qasem led ...
Abdullah Bin-Abd-al-Aziz Al Saud
(b. 1926).King of Saudi Arabia 2005– Born in Riyadh as the son of Abd-al Aziz ibn Saud, he was educated at the court. In 1962 he became commander of the National Guard, and in 1982 he became Crown ...
Abdullah ibn Hussein
(b. 1880, d. 20 July 1951).Emir of Transjordan 1921–48, King of Transjordan/Jordan 1948–51 Son of Hussein ibn Ali, Sherif of Mecca, with his brother Faisal he led the Arab Revolt of 1916. In 1921 he ...
Abdullah II
(1962– )King of Jordan (1999– ). The eldest son of King Hussein by his second wife, Abdullah was named as heir in place of his uncle (Prince Hassan) in the last days of his father's life. He ...
Abel Tendekayi Muzorewa
(b. 14 Apr. 1925; d. 8 Apr. 2010).Prime Minister of Zimbabwe-Rhodesia 1979. Born in Old Umtali, he was ordained in 1963, and in 1968 became a bishop in the United Methodist Church. In 1971, he ...
Abkhazia
A Caucasian territory which was part of the Soviet Union as an Autonomous Soviet Republic within Georgia. In April 1991 it became part of the independent Republic of Georgia, against the will of the ...
Achille Starace
(b. 1889, d. 28 Apr. 1945).Italian Fascist One of the earliest Italian Fascists, he led the Fascist movement in Trentino. He was Secretary of the National Fascist Party 1931–9. During this time he ...
Achmad Sukarno
(b. 6 June 1901, d. 21 June 1970).President of Indonesia 1949–68 Born in Surabaya, Sukarno studied engineering in Bandung, where he became involved in the foundation of the Partai Nasionalis ...
Adnan Menderes
(b. 1899, d. 17 Sept. 1961).Prime Minister of Turkey 1950–60 Born in Aydin (Izmir), he practised as a lawyer until 1932, when he became a representative for the Republican People's Party in the Grand ...
Adolf Eichmann
(1906–1962)German Nazi leader responsible for carrying out Hitler's final solution to the Jewish problem.Born in Solingen in the Rhineland, Eichmann grew up in Linz. He attended school in Thuringia ...
Adulyadej Bhumibol
(b. 5 Dec. 1927).King (Rama IX) of Thailand 1946– Born in Massachusetts, where his father, Prince Mahidol of Songkhla, studied medicine, he succeeded his brother, Ananda Mahidol, to the throne, and ...
Afrikaner
A term originally used to describe a person born in South Africa rather than Europe; in the twentieth century it was used to denote a White person whose first language was Afrikaans. Afrikaners ...
Afrikanerbond
A South African organization founded as the secret Afrikaner Broederbond (Brotherhood) designed to promote Afrikaner interests. Originally established in 1918 as a cultural organization under the ...
Agadir
A port in Morocco which became the focus of the second Moroccan crisis (July–November 1911). In response to the French occupation of the Moroccan city of Fez, which broke the agreement over Moroccan ...
Ahmed Ben Bella
(1916–2012)Algerian statesman, Prime Minister (1962–63) and President (1963–65). In 1952 he founded the Front de Libération Nationale (FLN), which instigated the Algerian War of Independence ...
