Valley Forge. 1777-8. Training camp of Washington’s Continental Army.

Van Buren, Martin. 1782-1862. US president 1837-41. Independent treasury, US neutrality. Barnburner. Called “Little Magician” for his political dexterity.

Vatican Councils. 1870 Papal Infallibility. 1962 Modified liturgy. Ecumenicalism.

Vaughan Williams, Ralph. 1872-1958. English Nationalist composer of symphonies, ballads, songs. Combined folk idiom with 16C polyphony. Sea 1910. Pastoral Symphony 1922.

Vergennes, Charles, Compte de. 1719-87. French foreign minister. Allied with American revolutionaries. Treaty of Paris 1783.

Verona Congress. 1822. Last Holy Alliance congress. Authorized French intervention in Spanish revolution. British opposed intervention in New Spain. Failure of Congress System.

Vietnam War. 1946-54. =Indo China War. 1962-75. Democratic South Vietnam falls to Communists despite US aid to 1973.

Voltaire, François. 1694-1778. French philosopher vs tyranny, bigotry, cruelty. Challenged accepted beliefs. Quotations became revolutionary slogans. Lettres Philosophique 1734. Candide 1758.

Wager of Battle. Trial by Combat. 8C-1817. Norse custom in England. Accused challenges accuser to combat-acquitted if he refuses.

Wailing Wall, Battle. 1929. Jews battle Moslems.

Wallace, Alfred. 1823-1913. British naturalist. Theory of natural selection, 1838, independent of Darwin.

Wallace, George. 1919-98. Alabama segregationist governor, presidential candidate. Shot 1972.

Wallace, Lewis. 1827-1905. US soldier, author. Ben Hur 1880.

Wallenberg, Raoul. 1912-47?. Swedish diplomat. Saved thousands of Jews in WWII Budapest. Jailed by Soviets. Holocaust.

Wallenstein, Albrecht von. 1583-1634. Bohemian HRE general in Thirty Years War.

Wallis, Barnes. 1887-1979. British armament inventor.

Wallis, John. 1616-1703. English mathematician. Calculus, cryptography. Infinitesimals 1655.

Walloon. French dialect of south Belgium. Flemings.

Warren, Robert. 1905-89. US Fugitive novelist. All the King’s Men 1946.

Warring States. 481-221BC. Chinese period of many small feuding kingdoms.

Warsaw Uprising. 1830-1. Czartoryski attempt to oust Russians crushed. 1944. Polish underground army defeats Germans but Soviet delay allows German reinforcements to defeat Poles, destroying potential opposition to later Soviet control.

West Wall. 1934-9. German illegal fortification of Rhine frontier.

Westminster Abbey. 7C Benedictine monastery. 1050-65 New Building, additions by Edward the Confessor; 1245 by Henry III. West towers 1745. Used for all British coronations since William I.

Westminster Confession of Faith. 1647. Doctrine of Presbyterian religion of Westminster Assembly called by Long Parliament.

Whig. 1679-19C. British political party =Liberal. Originally to oppose James II. Came to represent wealthy middle class. Tory.

1429 more results ...