Society
This general category includes a selection of more specific topics.
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Displaying Featured Society Articles
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Barack Obama44th president of the United States (2009–17) and the first African American to hold the office. Before winning the presidency, Obama represented Illinois in the U.S. Senate (2005–08). He was the third African American to be elected to that body since the end of Reconstruction (1877). In 2009 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize “for his extraordinary... -
Donald Trump45th president of the United States (2017–). Trump was also a real-estate developer who amassed vast hotel, casino, and other real-estate properties in the New York City area and around the world. Business career and reality television The son of a wealthy apartment-building developer in New York’s Queens borough, Trump graduated from the University... -
Augusto Pinochetleader of the military junta that overthrew the socialist government of Pres. Salvador Allende of Chile on September 11, 1973. Pinochet was head of Chile’s military government (1974–90). During his dictatorial reign tens of thousands of opponents of his regime were tortured. Pinochet, a graduate of the military academy in Santiago (1936), was a career... -
Kurt Georg Kiesingerconservative politician and chancellor (1966–69) of the Federal Republic of Germany whose “grand coalition” brought the Social Democratic Party (SPD) into the government for the first time since 1930. Kiesinger was educated at Berlin and Tübingen, after which he began to practice law. He joined the Nazi Party after Adolf Hitler ’s accession to power... -
United Statescountry in North America, a federal republic of 50 states. Besides the 48 conterminous 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 island state of Hawaii, in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The conterminous states are bounded on the north by Canada,... -
Steve Jobscofounder of Apple Computer, Inc. (now Apple Inc.), and a charismatic pioneer of the personal computer era. Founding of Apple Jobs was raised by adoptive parents in Cupertino, California, located in what is now known as Silicon Valley. Though he was interested in engineering, his passions of youth varied. He dropped out of Reed College, in Portland,... -
Indiacountry that occupies the greater part of South Asia. It is a constitutional republic consisting of 29 states, each with a substantial degree of control over its own affairs; 6 less fully empowered union territories; and the Delhi national capital territory, which includes New Delhi, India’s capital. With roughly one-sixth of the world’s total population,... -
Joaquín Guzmán Loerahead of the Sinaloa drug cartel, one of the most powerful criminal organizations in Mexico from the late 20th century. Guzmán was born and raised in Badiraguato municipality, an impoverished and remote area of Sinaloa state in northwestern Mexico that was the birthplace of many notorious drug traffickers. He began his criminal career in the 1980s as... -
United Kingdomisland 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 is sometimes used to refer to the United Kingdom as a whole. The capital is London, which... -
Chinacountry of East Asia. It is the largest of all Asian countries and has the largest population of any country in the world. Occupying nearly the entire East Asian landmass, it occupies approximately one-fourteenth of the land area of Earth. Among the major countries of the world, China is surpassed in area by only Russia and Canada, and it is almost... -
Adolf Hitlerleader of the National Socialist (Nazi) Party (from 1920/21) and chancellor (Kanzler) and Führer of Germany (1933–45). He was chancellor from January 30, 1933, and, after President Paul von Hindenburg’s death, assumed the twin titles of Führer and chancellor (August 2, 1934). Hitler’s father, Alois (born 1837), was illegitimate. For a time he bore... -
Bernie SandersAmerican politician who was first elected to represent Vermont in the U.S. Senate in 2006 and took office the following year. Previously he served as the mayor of Burlington (1981–89) and as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1991–2007). Formally unaffiliated with any political party, he announced in April 2015 that he would seek the Democratic... -
Pablo EscobarColombian criminal who, as head of the Medellín cartel, was arguably the world’s most powerful drug trafficker in the 1980s and early ’90s. Soon after his birth, Escobar’s family moved to Envigado, Colombia, a suburb of Medellín. While still a teenager, he began a life of crime. His early illegal activities included smuggling stereo equipment and stealing... -
Elon MuskSouth African-born American entrepreneur who cofounded the electronic-payment firm PayPal and formed SpaceX, maker of launch vehicles and spacecraft. He was also one of the first significant investors in, as well as chairman and chief executive officer of, the electric car manufacturer Tesla Motors. Musk was born to a South African father and a Canadian... -
Canadasecond largest country in the world in area (after Russia), occupying roughly the northern two-fifths of the continent of North America. Despite Canada’s great size, it is one of the world’s most sparsely populated countries. This fact, coupled with the grandeur of the landscape, has been central to the sense of Canadian national identity, as expressed... -
Russiacountry that stretches over a vast expanse of eastern Europe and northern Asia. Once the preeminent republic of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.; commonly known as the Soviet Union), Russia became an independent country after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991. Russia is a land of superlatives. By far the world’s... -
Germanycountry of north-central Europe, traversing the continent’s main physical divisions, from the outer ranges of the Alps northward across the varied landscape of the Central German Uplands and then across the North German Plain. One of Europe ’s largest countries, Germany encompasses a wide variety of landscapes: the tall, sheer mountains of the south;... -
Australiathe smallest continent and one of the largest countries on Earth, lying between the Pacific and Indian oceans in the Southern Hemisphere. Australia’s capital is Canberra, located in the southeast between the larger and more important economic and cultural centres of Sydney and Melbourne. The Australian mainland extends from west to east for nearly... -
Elizabeth IIqueen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from February 6, 1952. In 2015 she surpassed Victoria to become the longest-reigning monarch in British history. Early life Elizabeth was the elder daughter of Albert, duke of York, and his wife, Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. As the child of a younger son of King George V, the young Elizabeth... -
Japanisland country lying off the east coast of Asia. It consists of a great string of islands in a northeast-southwest arc that stretches for approximately 1,500 miles (2,400 km) through the western North Pacific Ocean. Nearly the entire land area is taken up by the country’s four main islands; from north to south these are Hokkaido (Hokkaidō), Honshu... -
Francecountry of northwestern Europe. Historically and culturally among the most important nations in the Western world, France has also played a highly significant role in international affairs, with former colonies in every corner of the globe. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, the Alps and the Pyrenees, France has long provided... -
Singaporecity-state located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, about 85 miles (137 kilometres) north of the Equator. It consists of the diamond-shaped Singapore Island and some 60 small islets; the main island occupies all but about 18 square miles of this combined area. The main island is separated from Peninsular Malaysia to the north by Johor Strait,... -
Abraham Lincoln16th president of the United States (1861–65), who preserved the Union during the American Civil War and brought about the emancipation of the slaves. (For a discussion of the history and nature of the presidency, see presidency of the United States of America.) Among American heroes, Lincoln continues to have a unique appeal for his fellow countrymen... -
Bill GatesAmerican computer programmer and entrepreneur who cofounded Microsoft Corporation, the world’s largest personal-computer software company. Gates wrote his first software program at the age of 13. In high school he helped form a group of programmers who computerized their school’s payroll system and founded Traf-O-Data, a company that sold traffic -counting... -
Saudi Arabiaarid, sparsely populated kingdom of the Middle East. Extending across most of the northern and central Arabian Peninsula, Saudi Arabia is a young country that is heir to a rich history. In its western highlands, along the Red Sea, lies the Hejaz, which is the cradle of Islam and the site of that religion’s holiest cities, Mecca and Medina. In the country’s... -
Vladimir PutinRussian intelligence officer and politician who served as president (1999–2008, 2012–) of Russia and also was the country’s prime minister (1999, 2008–12). Early career Putin studied law at Leningrad State University, where his tutor was Anatoly Sobchak, later one of the leading reform politicians of the perestroika period. Putin served 15 years as... -
Israelcountry in the Middle East, located at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea. It is bounded to the north by Lebanon, to the northeast by Syria, to the east and southeast by Jordan, to the southwest by Egypt, and to the west by the Mediterranean Sea. Jerusalem is the seat of government and the proclaimed capital, although the latter status has not... -
Hillary ClintonAmerican lawyer and politician who served as a U.S. senator (2001–09) and secretary of state (2009–13) in the administration of Pres. Barack Obama. She also served as first lady (1993–2001) during the administration of her husband, Bill Clinton, 42nd president of the United States. As the Democratic Party ’s nominee for president in 2016, she became... -
wikiWorld Wide Web (WWW) site that can be modified or contributed to by users. Wikis can be dated to 1995, when American computer programmer Ward Cunningham created a new collaborative technology for organizing information on Web sites. Using a Hawaiian term meaning “quick,” he called this new software WikiWikiWeb, attracted by its alliteration and also... -
Boxing Dayin Great Britain and some Commonwealth countries, particularly Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, holiday (December 26) on which servants, tradespeople, and the poor traditionally were presented with gifts. Explanations for the origin of the name have varied, with some believing that it derived from the opening of alms boxes that had been placed in...
