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Auster, Paul

(Encyclopedia)Auster, Paul ôˈstər [key], 1947–, American writer, b. Newark, N.J. After publishing four volumes of poetry, he wrote his first novel, Squeeze Play (1982). A compelling storyteller, Auster became ...

Mackenzie, William Lyon

(Encyclopedia)Mackenzie, William Lyon, 1795–1861, Canadian journalist and insurgent leader, b. Scotland; grandfather of William Lyon Mackenzie King. Emigrating to Upper Canada in 1820, he published (1824–34), f...

Woodhull, Victoria (Claflin)

(Encyclopedia)Woodhull, Victoria (Claflin), 1838–1927, and Tennessee Claflin, 1846–1923, American journalists and lecturers, b. Ohio, sisters noted for their beauty and wildly eccentric behavior. As children th...

Snow, C. P.

(Encyclopedia)Snow, C. P. (Charles Percy Snow, Baron Snow of Leicester), 1905–80, English author and physicist. Snow had an active, varied career, including several important positions in the British government. ...

Alien and Sedition Acts

(Encyclopedia)Alien and Sedition Acts, 1798, four laws enacted by the Federalist-controlled U.S. Congress, allegedly in response to the hostile actions of the French Revolutionary government on the seas and in the ...

Dumas, Alexandre (Dumas fils), 1824–95, French dramatist and novelist

(Encyclopedia)Dumas, Alexandre, known as Dumas fils fēs [key], 1824–95, French dramatist and novelist, illegitimate son of Alexandre Dumas (1802–70, Dumas Père). He was the chief creator of the 19th-century c...

Marcy, William Learned

(Encyclopedia)Marcy, William Learned, 1786–1857, American politician, b. Southbridge, Mass. He settled in Troy, N.Y., where he practiced law and, after serving in the War of 1812, held local offices. A Democrat a...

Turgenev, Ivan Sergeyevich

(Encyclopedia)Turgenev, Ivan Sergeyevich ēvänˈ syĭrgāˈəvĭch to͞orgāˈnyĭf [key], 1818–83, Russian novelist, dramatist, and short-story writer, considered one of the foremost Russian writers. He came fr...

Catiline

(Encyclopedia)Catiline (Lucius Sergius Catilina) kătˈĭlīn [key], c.108 b.c.–62 b.c., Roman politician and conspirator. At first a conservative and a partisan of Sulla, he was praetor in 68 b.c. and governor o...

Demosthenes

(Encyclopedia)Demosthenes dĭmŏsˈthənēz [key], 384?–322 b.c., Greek orator, generally considered the greatest of the Greek orators. He was a pupil of Isaeus, and—although the story of his putting pebbles in...