Island group (pop., 1996: 9,528), forming the northeastern part of the French overseas territory of Wallis and Futuna, South Pacific Ocean. It comprises the main island of Uvea and eight islets, all enclosed in one coral reef, and it has an area of 23 sq mi (60 sq km). Visited in 1767 by the British navigator Capt. Samuel Wallis, the islands were occupied by the French in 1842. They became a French protectorate in 1887 and part of the overseas territory in 1959
a US woman, often known simply as Mrs Simpson, who had a relationship with the British king Edward VIII. Because she had already been married twice before, Edward was not allowed to marry her. In 1938, he decided to abdicate (=give up his position as king) so that he could marry her. She then became the Duchess of Windsor (1896-1986)
born June 19, 1896, Blue Ridge Summit, Pa., U.S. died April 24, 1986, Paris, France U.S. socialite who became the wife of Prince Edward, duke of Windsor (Edward VIII), after the latter had abdicated the British throne in order to marry her. She had earlier married Earl Spencer in 1916. After their divorce (1927), she married Ernest Simpson (1928) and moved with him to London. As a member of fashionable British society, she met Edward, prince of Wales, and the two gradually fell in love. She filed for divorce in 1936 with the intention of marrying Edward (by then King Edward), but as a woman twice divorced, she was unacceptable as a prospective British queen. Edward renounced the throne, and after she received her divorce they were married in 1937. The two thereafter lived a well-publicized international social life, residing mainly in France
Island group, South Pacific Ocean. It is a self-governing overseas territory (pop., 2000 est.: 15,283) of France; it includes Wallis Island (also known as Uvea), the Futuna Islands (Futuna and Alofi), and a number of islets. The administrative seat is the village of Matautu, on Uvea. Until 1961 Wallis and Futuna was a protectorate under French authority attached to New Caledonia
v. born Feb. 8, 1894, Galveston, Texas, U.S. died Nov. 1, 1982, Paso Robles, Calif. U.S. film director. He worked as a prop boy, scriptwriter, newsreel cameraman, and assistant director before directing his first feature film, The Turn in the Road (1919). He won acclaim for The Big Parade (1925) and The Crowd (1928), considered a silent-movie classic. His films, which deal with themes such as idealism and disillusionment in contemporary life, include the first all-African American film, Hallelujah! (1929), as well as Our Daily Bread (1934) and The Citadel (1938). His later movies include the western epic Duel in the Sun (1946), The Fountainhead (1949), and War and Peace (1956)
born Sept. 26, 1887, Ripley, Derbyshire, Eng. died Oct. 30, 1979, Leatherhead, Surrey British aeronautical designer and military engineer. He invented the innovative "dambuster" bombs used in World War II by the Royal Air Force to destroy the Möhne and Eder dams in Germany's industrial Ruhr area, producing heavy floods that slowed industrial production. He also invented the 12,000-lb (5,400 kg) "Tallboy" and the 22,000-lb (10,000 kg) "Grand Slam" bombs and was responsible for the bombs that destroyed the German warship Tirpitz, V-rocket sites, and much of Germany's railway system. In 1971 he designed an aircraft that could fly five times the speed of sound
born Sept. 26, 1887, Ripley, Derbyshire, Eng. died Oct. 30, 1979, Leatherhead, Surrey British aeronautical designer and military engineer. He invented the innovative "dambuster" bombs used in World War II by the Royal Air Force to destroy the Möhne and Eder dams in Germany's industrial Ruhr area, producing heavy floods that slowed industrial production. He also invented the 12,000-lb (5,400 kg) "Tallboy" and the 22,000-lb (10,000 kg) "Grand Slam" bombs and was responsible for the bombs that destroyed the German warship Tirpitz, V-rocket sites, and much of Germany's railway system. In 1971 he designed an aircraft that could fly five times the speed of sound