Vienna, Peace. 1606. Ended Hungarian rebellion vs Hapsburgs. Toleration for Protestants.

Vigeland, Gustav. 1869-1943. Norwegian sculptor depicting man’s struggle for life. Frogner Parken.

Vigilante. US extralegal law enforcers on frontier.

Villein. Feudal serf bound to land. Performs services for lord in exchange for protection and land use.

Vincent de Paul, St. 1581-1660. French priest, known for his charity. Founded Lazarists 1625.

Virginia Declaration of Rights. 1776. Model for US Bill of Rights.

Virginius Affair. 1873. Spain siezes US flagged Cuban ship, Virginius. Executes 53 for smuggling arms to Cuba during Ten Years War. Indemnity paid to US, Great Britain.

Vitalism. Bergson’s theory of evolution. Life force differentiates living things from others. Aristotle.

Volkssturm. 1944. German home defence force.

Volstead Act. 1919-33. Enforced US Prohibition.

V-1, V-2. 1944. WWII German missiles vs Britain, Belgium. V=Vergeltung(Revenge). 8,000 V-1s. 1300 V-2s. Basis for future space research.

Vorticism. 1900-20. Art movement of mechanical forms and angles. Lewis. Gaudier-Brzeska.

Vyshinsky, Andrei. 1883-1954. Russian statesman, prosecutor for Purge trials.

Wade-Davis Bill. 1864. Strict terms for US Reconstruction vetoed by Lincoln.

Walesa, Lech. 1943-. Polish Solidarity leader instrumental in forcing decline of Communist rule. President 1990-96.

Walter, John. 1739-1812. English entrepreuner. Founded Times 1785. Jailed for libel.

Warsaw Pact. 1955-91. USSR, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, E Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania. Treaty for the combined defence of Eastern Europe under Soviet supreme command.

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.

Watteau, Antoine. 1684-1721. French painter known for color and naturalism. Embarcation for Cythera 1717.

Weather Forecasts. 1860. First regularly issued by British Admiralty Office.

West Indies Associated States. 1967 Association of self-governing former Britishcolonies under British suzerainty.

West Virginia. 1863. Region refused to secede with Virginia, forming a new state.

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, Provisions of. 1259. Reenacted as Marlborough Statute 1267. Forced on Henry III by barons, limiting power. Barons War.

44 more results ...