Northern War, Great. 1700-21. Sweden vs Russia and allies. Ends Sweden’s power, begins Russia’s.

Notre-Dame. Paris Cathedral. 1163-1345. Restored 1841. Prototype of all Gothic cathedrals.

Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. 1968. USSR, US, UK, +59 others. Effective 1970.

Nufer, Jacob. c1500. First successful Caesarian section on living mother.

Numa Pompilius. c715-673BC. Second king of Rome. Organized the ceremony of state.

Nystad, Treaty. 1721. Russia/Sweden. Russia gains window on Baltic. Ends Great Northern War.

Obed. Biblical son of Ruth and Boaz. Grandfather of David.

Oberon. King of the Fairies, from Huon de Bordeaux poem.

Observatory, Paris. 1667-72. Claude Perrault. Dimensions of the solar system 1672, meridians of longitude. Sets Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).

O’Casey, Sean. 1880-1964. Irish Realist playwright: Juno and the Paycock 1924. Plow and the Stars 1926.

Occam, William. c1280-1349. English Franciscan Nominalist philosopher. “Science is about things, philosophy about terms and concepts”. Occam’s razor: “It is vain to do with more, what can be done with fewer” (Science or Logic). Incompatibility of knowledge and faith, 1332. Opposed Aquinas Aristotelian realism. “Universal ideas exist only in the mind”. Influenced Reformation.

Occitan. Langue d’Oc. Romance language of southern France. Dialects include Provençale, the language of the troubadours. Oil.

Occultism. Belief in supernatural. Astrology, alchemy, spiritualism, theosophy.

Odeon. Athenian place of music and poetry competition. Parisian theater 1728.

Odoacer. c435-93. German who deposed Romulus Augustus 476. Assassinated by Theodoric.

Oecolampadius, Johannes. 1482-1531. German Reformation theologian. Drafted Confession of Basel 1531.

Oedipus. Solved the riddle of the sphynx. Killed his father and married his mother.

Oisin. (Ossian). 3C. Gaelic warrior bard. Legends of his father Finn MacCool.

Olaf V. 1903-91 King of Norway 1957-. Commanded army vs Germany in 1944, then fled to England.

Oliva, Peace. 1660. Ended First Northern War.

Olympias. c175-316BC. Wife of Philip of Macedonia. Mother of Alexander the Great.

Olympics, Modern. 1896 Athens. 1900 Paris. 1904 St. Louis. 1908 London. 1912 Stockholm. 1920 Antwerp. Summer: 1924 Paris. 1928 Amsterdam. 1932 Los Angeles. 1936 Berlin. 1948 London. 1952 Helsinki. 1956 Melbourne. 1960 Rome. 1964 Tokyo. 1968 Mexico City. 1972 Munich. 1976 Montreal. 1980 Moscow. 1984 Los Angeles. 1988 Seoul. 1992 Barcelona. 1996 Atlanta. 2000 Sydney. 2004 Athens. 2008 Beijing. Winter: 1924 Chamonix. 1928 St Moritz. 1932 Lake Placid. 1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen. 1948 St Moritz. 1952 Oslo. 1956 Cortina d’Ampezzo. 1960 Squaw Valley. 1964 Innsbruck. 1968 Grenoble 1972 Sapporo. 1976 Innsbruck. 1980 Lake Placid. 1984 Sarajevo. 1988 Calgary. 1992 Albertville. 1994 Lillehammer. 1998 Nagano. 2002 Salt Lake City. 2006 Torino. Olympia.

Omar Khayyam. c1027-1123. Persian mathematician/ poet: Rubaiyat. Specific gravity of gold 1061.

Ontological Argument. God exists as the most perfect human conception.

Orange, House of. French dynasty influential in Netherlands. William I. William III.

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