Before 1940 Finland was a poor rural nation of urban and rural workers and independent farmers.

Before July 1, 2010, students were required to enroll in a student union, nation or AF in order to receive grades at the university, but this is no longer compulsory.

Before Nepal's emergence as a nation in the later half of the 18th century, the designation ' Nepal ' was largely applied only to the Kathmandu Valley and its surroundings.

Before colonization the senior queen acted as a check and counterweight to the king's power, both through her direct control of some military forces and her control of rainmaking medicines and rites and of key aspects of the Ncwala national ritual that annually binds the fate of the king and the nation together.

Before admission to the Union, Texas, as an independent nation, controlled water within three miles of the coast, the normal limit for nations.

Before Harding's election, the nation had been adrift ; President Woodrow Wilson had been ill by a debilitating stroke for eighteen months and before that Wilson had been in Europe for several months attempting to negotiate a peace settlement after World War I.

Before 1917, the position of the United States government and the feelings of the nation in respect to the " Great War " initially had properly been one of neutrality.

Before the nation watched, riveted but powerless, as Los Angeles was looted and burned.

Before Prohibition, Missouri was the second-largest wine-producing state in the nation.

Before white settlement, all of the land that forms modern-day Starke County and adjacent LaPorte County to the north belonged to the Potawatami Indian nation.

Before white settlement, all of the land that forms modern-day LaPorte County, and adjacent Starke County to the south belonged to the Potawatomi Indian nation.

Before the eyes of the nation, Joe Louis, an American hero if ever there was one, was going to get beaten up.

Before 1876, the US Army had destroyed seven Cheyenne camps, more than those of any other nation.

Before the 19th century, military circles supported the notion that all persons, including unarmed women and children, were still the enemy, with the belligerent ( nation or person engaged in conflict ) having conquering rights over them.

Before he retired from the weekday breakfast programme Wake Up to Wogan on BBC Radio 2 on 18 December 2009, it had a regular 8 million listeners, making Wogan the most listened-to radio broadcaster of any European nation.

Before that period the Wisdom literature shows a tendency to dwell solely on the moral obligations and problems of life as appealing to man as an individual, leaving out of consideration the ceremonial and other laws which concern only the Jewish nation.

Before the establishment of modern nation states in the region during the mid-20th century, Maghreb most-commonly referred to a smaller area between the Atlas Mountains in the south and the Mediterranean Sea, often also including eastern Libya, but not modern Mauritania.

: Before the ceremony of consecration begins, the bishop elect shall take a solemn oath, in the presence of the municipal officers, of the people, and of the clergy, to guard with care the faithful of his diocese who are confided to him, to be loyal to the nation, the law, and the king, and to support with all his power the constitution decreed by the National Assembly and accepted by the king.

Before the war he assented to the possible division of the nation on the grounds of " irreconcilable differences ;" that is, slavery, between regions.

Before he had been long in Padua the students of the German nation, of all the faculties there, elected him their patron, and he advised and assisted them in the purchase of a house to be a German library and club, for all time.

Before then, the Mossi people held a belief that " when the first white face appeared in the land the nation would die.

Before the completion of the Interstate system, U. S. Highway 70 was sometimes referred to as the " Broadway of America ", due to its status as one of the main east – west thoroughfares in the nation.

Before he died, Moawad had addressed the nation with these words: " There can be no country or dignity without unity of the people, and there can be no unity without agreement, and there can be no agreement without conciliation, and there can be no conciliation without forgiveness and compromise.

Before the era of rapid international transport or instantaneous communication ( such as radio or telephone ), diplomatic mission chiefs were granted full ( plenipotentiary ) powers to represent their government in negotiations with their host nation.

Before the Draft Act was passed Baker had confidentially briefed governors, sheriffs, and prospective draft board members on the administration of the measure -- and the confidence was kept so well that only one newspaper learned what was going on.

Before the fight was over, the Harlem boy had a concussion and Trig was cut up badly.

Before he left the apartment he knocked on their door and asked if there was anything he could do for them.

Before he left town Pat saw to it that I was fixed up with a job.

Before the airplanes came, he said, travel in Laos was just about impossible.

Before coming on a visit to Spelman in 1885, Miss Mary had been a successful teacher in Worcester, and her position there was held open for her for a considerable period.

Before he was forty Griffith had created the art of the film.

Before appealing to the U.N. or to Russia, he first appealed to the U.S. for military help, and was rejected.

Before her chore was finished she was rescuing wind-blown sheets of music, trundling microphones about the stage, helping to move the piano and otherwise joining in the informal atmosphere.

Before ASCII was developed, the encodings in use included 26 alphabetic characters, 10 numerical digits, and from 11 to 25 special graphic symbols.

Before Europeans discovered other oceans, the term " ocean " itself was synonymous with the waters beyond the Strait of Gibraltar that we now know as the Atlantic.

Before he could pass the river with safety, however, it was necessary to subdue certain fortresses, one of which was for several days vigorously defended by the governor, Yussuf el-Harezmi, a Khwarezmian.

Before the 1989 series began, the win-loss ratio was almost even, with 87 wins for Australia to England's 86, 74 having been drawn.

Before the late modern era, the abbot was treated with the utmost reverence by the brethren of his house.

Before the creation of the world, God was all by Himself, in a Self-absorbed state.

Before the Tennessee electorate voted on secession, Johnson, at his peril, toured the state, speaking in opposition to the measure, contending it was unconstitutional.

Before his death, he was absolved from the excommunication ; moreover, the Pope also promised that the King of Hungary and his relatives would not be excommunicated without the special permission of the Pope.

Before the 2007 season began, Vick was suspended indefinitely by the NFL after pleading guilty to charges involving dog fighting in the state of Virginia.

Before the War, Paul was a creative, sensitive, and passionate person, writing poems and having a clear love for his family.

Before the war Tjaden was a locksmith.