Encyclopædia Britannica Australia -

Encyclopedias since 1768

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unit train ... United States Air Force Academy

unit train: freight train composed of cars carrying a single type of commodity that are all bound for the same destination. By hauling only one kind of freight for one destination, a unit train does not need to switch cars at various ...
Unitarian Universalist Association: religious organization in the United States formed in May 1961 by merger of the Universalist Church of America and the American Unitarian Association. The American Unitarian Association was founded in 1825 as the result of a gradual development of Unitarianism ...
Unitarianism and Universalism: liberal religious movements that have merged in the United States. In previous centuries they appealed for their views to Scripture interpreted by reason, but most contemporary Unitarians and Universalists base their religious beliefs on reason and experience.
Unitas Fratrum: (Latin: "Unity of Brethren"), Protestant religious group inspired by Hussite spiritual ideals in Bohemia in the mid-15th century. They followed a simple, humble life of nonviolence, using the Bible as their sole rule of faith. They denied transubstantiation but received ...
Unitas, Johnny: American professional gridiron football quarterback who in 1969 was named the greatest all-time National Football League (NFL) quarterback.
United Airlines, Inc.: American international airline serving North America, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Europe. Headquarters are at Elk Grove Village, a suburb of Chicago, Ill.
United Arab Emirates: union of seven tiny emirates along the eastern Persian Gulf coast of the Arabian Peninsula. Formerly known as the Trucial States, Trucial Oman, or the Trucial Sheikhdoms, they are bordered by Qatar to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west ...
United Arab Republic: political union of Egypt and Syria proclaimed on Feb. 1, 1958, and ratified in nationwide plebiscites. It ended on Sept. 28, 1961, when Syria, following a military coup, declared itself independent of Egypt. Despite the dissolution of the union, Egypt ...
United Artists Corporation: major investor in and distributor of independently produced motion pictures in the United States. The corporation was formed in 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, the comedy star; Mary Pickford and her husband, Douglas Fairbanks, the popular film stars; and D.W. Griffith, ...
United Australia Party: (UAP; 1931-44), political party formed by a fusion of Nationalist Party and conservative Australian Labor Party members, which alone or in coalition with the Country Party controlled the Australian commonwealth government for 10 years. Brought to power in the general ...
United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America: International Union: American industrial union of automotive and other vehicular workers, headquartered in Detroit, Michigan.
United Brands Company: American corporation formed in 1970 in the merger of United Fruit Company and AMK Corporation (the holding company for John Morrell and Co., meat-packers). It engages in the production and distribution of bananas and other fruits and produce, the processing ...
United Church of Canada: church established June 10, 1925, in Toronto, Ont., by the union of the Congregational, Methodist, and Presbyterian churches of Canada. The three churches were each the result of mergers that had taken place within each denomination in Canada in the ...
United Church of Christ: Protestant denomination in the United States, formed by the union of the Evangelical and Reformed Church and the General Council of Congregational Christian Churches. Each was the result of former unions. Negotiations toward union of the two bodies were begun ...
United Daughters of the Confederacy: American women's patriotic society, founded in Nashville, Tenn., on Sept. 10, 1894, that draws its members from descendants of those who served in the Confederacy's armed forces or government or who gave to either their loyal and substantial private support. ...
United Development Party: a moderate Islamist political party in Indonesia.
United Evangelical Lutheran Church: church organized in 1896 in Minneapolis, Minn., as the United Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church in America by merger of the Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church in North America (the North Church) and the Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church Association in America (the ...
United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany: union of 10 Lutheran territorial churches in Germany, organized in 1948 at Eisenach, E.Ger. The territorial churches were those of Bavaria, Brunswick, Hamburg, Hanover, Mecklenburg, Saxony, Schaumburg-Lippe, Schleswig-Holstein, and Thuringia. The territorial churches of Wurttemberg and Oldenburg did not join. ...
United Free Church of Scotland: Presbyterian church formed in 1900 as the result of the union between the Free Church of Scotland and the United Presbyterian Church (qq.v.). A series of unanimous decisions brought the United Presbyterian Church into the union. In the Free Church, ...
United Front: in Chinese history, either of two coalitions between the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Nationalist Party (Kuomintang [KMT]). The first United Front was begun in 1924. In return for Soviet military and organizational aid, Sun Yat-sen, the founder of ...
United Fruit Company: major division of United Brands Company (q.v.).
United House of Prayer for All People: Pentecostal Holiness church founded by Bishop Charles Emmanuel ("Sweet Daddy") Grace (1881/84?-1960). After leaving a job as a cook on a Southern railway, he began to preach, assuming the name "Grace" and proclaiming himself "Bishop." He established a house of ...
United Ireland Party: Irish political party officially called by its Irish name, Fine Gael (q.v.).
United Irishmen, Society of: Irish political organization formed in October 1791 by Theobald Wolfe Tone, James Napper Tandy, and Thomas Russell to achieve Roman Catholic emancipation and (with Protestant cooperation) parliamentary reform. British attempts to suppress the society caused its reorganization as an underground ...
United Kingdom: island country located off the northwestern coast of mainland Europe. The United Kingdom comprises the whole of the island of Great Britain-which contains England, Wales, and Scotland-as well as the northern portion of the island of Ireland. The name Britain ...
United Methodist Church: in the United States, a major Protestant church formed in 1968 in Dallas, Texas, by the union of The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church. It developed from the British Methodist revival movement led by John Wesley that ...
United Mine Workers of America: American labour union, founded in 1890, that engaged in bitter, though often successful, disputes with coal mine operators for safe working conditions, fair pay, and other worker benefits. An industrial union, the UMWA includes miners in bituminous and anthracite coal ...
United Nations: international organization established on October 24, 1945. The United Nations was the second multipurpose international organization established in the 20th century that was worldwide in ...
United Nations Capital Development Fund: United Nations (UN) organization established by the General Assembly in 1966 and fully operational in 1974. Headquartered in New York City, the UNDF, a semi-autonomous unit of the United Nations Development Programme, provides grants and loans to the least-developed members ...
United Nations Conference on Environment and Development: conference held at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (June 3-14, 1992), to reconcile worldwide economic development with protection of the environment. The Earth Summit was the largest gathering of world leaders in history, with 117 heads of state and representatives of ...
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development: permanent organ of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, established in 1964 to promote trade, investment, and development in developing countries. Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, UNCTAD has approximately 190 members.
United Nations Development Programme: United Nations (UN) organization formed in 1965 to help countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable human development, an approach to economic growth that emphasizes improving the quality of life of all citizens while conserving the environment and natural resources for ...
United Nations Environment Programme: organization established in 1972 to guide and coordinate environmental activities within the United Nations (UN) system. UNEP promotes international cooperation on environmental issues, provides guidance to UN organizations, and, through its scientific advisory groups, encourages the international scientific community to ...
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Office of the: organization established as the successor to the International Refugee Organization (IRO; 1946-52) by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in 1951 to provide legal and political protection for refugees until they could acquire nationality in new countries of residence. International ...
United Nations Industrial Development Organization: international UN development agency, based in Vienna, that was established by the General Assembly on January 1, 1967. UNIDO's governing body, the General Conference, meets every two years and determines policy and approves the budget. It also elects the director-general ...
United Nations Institute for Training and Research: United Nations organization established in 1965 to provide high-priority training and research projects to help facilitate the UN objectives of world peace and security and of economic and social progress. A Board of Trustees of up to 30 members is ...
United Nations Korean Reconstruction Agency: economic-rehabilitation program (1950-58) established to aid South Korea in recovering from the disruption caused by the 1945 partition creating the two Korean republics. In addition to problems of economic reconstruction, much attention was concentrated on the problem of refugees who ...
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs: agency of the United Nations (UN) Secretariat originally established in 1972 to coordinate international relief activities to countries struck by natural or other disasters. It is headed by a disaster relief coordinator who reports directly to the UN secretary-general and ...
United Nations Peacekeeping Forces: international armed forces first used in 1948 to observe cease-fires in Kashmir and Palestine. Although not specifically mentioned in the United Nations (UN) Charter, the use of international forces as a buffer between warring parties pending troop withdrawals and negotiations-a ...
United Nations Population Fund: trust fund under the jurisdiction of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Established in 1969, the UNFPA is the largest international source of assistance for population programs and the leading United Nations (UN) organization for the implementation of the 1994 ...
United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration: administrative body (1943-47) for an extensive social-welfare program that assisted nations ravaged by World War II. Created on Nov. 9, 1943, by a 44-nation agreement, its operations concentrated on distributing relief supplies, such as food, clothing, fuel, shelter, and medicines; ...
United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East: subsidiary agency created by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in 1949 to provide relief, health, and education services for Palestinians who lost both their homes and means of livelihood during the Arab-Israeli wars following the establishment of the state ...
United Nations Research Institute for Social Development: autonomous United Nations body established in 1964 to conduct research into the problems and policies of social and economic development. UNRISD is dependent on voluntary contributions from governments, from other UN organizations, and from various national and international agencies because ...
United Party: one of the leading political parties of the Republic of South Africa from 1934 to 1977, governing from 1934 to 1948.
United Pentecostal Church, Inc.: Protestant denomination organized in St. Louis, Mo., U.S., in 1945 by merger of the Pentecostal Assemblies of Jesus Christ and the Pentecostal Church, Inc. It is the largest of the Jesus Only groups (a movement for which the sacrament of ...
United Presbyterian Church: denomination that flourished in Scotland from 1847 to 1900. It was formed through the union of the United Secession Church and the Relief Church, which had developed from groups that left the Church of Scotland in the 18th century. The ...
United Press International: American-based news agency, one of the largest proprietary news wire services in the world. It was created in 1958 upon the merger of the United Press (UP; 1907) with the International News Service (INS). UPI and its precursor agencies pioneered ...
United Provinces of Central America: (1823-40), union of what are now the states of Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua.
United Service Organizations, Inc.: private, nonprofit social-service agency first chartered on Feb. 4, 1941, to provide social, welfare, and recreational services for members of the U.S. armed forces and their families.
United States: country of North America, a federal republic of 50 states. Besides the 48 contiguous states that occupy the middle latitudes of the continent, the United States includes the state of Alaska, at the northwestern extreme of North America, and the ...
United States Air Force Academy: institution of higher education for the training of commissioned officers for the U.S. Air Force. It was created by act of Congress on April 1, 1954, formally opened on July 11, 1955, at temporary quarters at Lowry Air Force Base, ...