Olier, Jean-Jacques. 1608-57. French priest: founded company of St-Sulpice.

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.

Omphale. Mythical Queen of Lydia served by Hercules.

O’Neill, Eugene. 1888-1953. US playwright: Iceman Cometh 1946. Long Day’s Journey into Night 1956.

O’Neill, Hugh. c1540-1616. Irish. Led failed revolt vs English rule.

O’Neill, Shane. c1530-67. Irish chief rebelled vs England, slain by rival clan.

Open Door. 1900-39. US policy of equal trade rights with China.

Opéra-Comique. 18C-. French light opera infl by Italian Opera Buffa. Grétry.

Oregon Question. 1818-46. Britain vs US on Canadian border. Treaty established 49°N 1846.

Orestes. Electra’s brother. Killed mother and her lover to avenge death of his father, Agamemnon.

Orléans, Charles, duc d’. 1394-1465. Fought with Armagnacs vs Burgundians. Captured at Agincourt 1415. Ransomed 1440. Last courtly poet of France.

Orléans, Gaston, duc d’. 1608-60. French prince vs Richelieu. Exiled 1632-2. Led Fronde.

Orléans, Louis, duc d’. 1372-1407. Began Armagnac/Burgundy conflict. Assassinated by supporters of John the Fearless.

Orléans, Louis Philippe, duc d’. 1747-93. Became Citizen Égalité 1892. Joined Third Estate. Father of King Louis-Philippe.

Orléans, Philippe II, duc d’. 1674-1723. French soldier Wars of Grand Alliance, Spanish Succession. Regent for Louis XV.

Osama bin Laden. 1957-. Wahabi Saudi Arabian construction magnate turned terrorist. World Trade Center. Taliban. al-Qaeda.

Osborne, John. 1929-94. ‘Angry’ English playwright. Entertainer 1951. Look Back in Anger 1956.

Osman I. 1258-1326. Turkish founder of Ottoman Empire 1299. Conquered Byzantium.

Ostrogoths. Germanic peoples. 3C Ukraine kingdom. 406 kingdom in Italy. 370 conquered by Huns. 493 conquered Italy. 555 dispersed by Justinian. Goths.

Ottoman Empire. 1300-1922. Turkish empire in Balkans, Near East, N Africa. Conquered Byzantine Empire. 1402 Destroyed by Tamerlane. 1413 Rebuilt by Mehmed. 1453 Conquered Constantinople. Eastern Question. Mehmed II. Süleiman the Magnificent. Turkey.

Owens, Jesse. 1913-80. Black US athlete. 4 golds at 1936 Berlin Olympics contradicted Hitler’s Aryan supremacy.

Oxford English Dictionary. 1884-1928. 10 volumes, 2.4 million quotations. OED2 1989. James Murray.

Pachero, Francisco. 1564-1654. Spanish writer, artist. Arte de la pintura 1649. Taught Velazquez, Cano.

Pacific, War of. 1879-84. Chile wins land from Peru, Bolivia’s coastline.

Paix des Dames. Cambrai Treaty. 1529. Francis I’s mother and Charles V’s aunt negotiate halt to Italian Wars.

540 more results ...