(Encyclopedia) Newhouse, Samuel Irving, 1895–1979, American newspaper and magazine publisher, b. New York City as Solomon Neuhaus, known generally as Sam. From 1922 to the 1970s, his Advance…
(Encyclopedia) Sills, Beverly, 1929–2007, American coloratura soprano, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., as Belle Silverman. Her childhood career as a radio singer (when she was first nicknamed “Bubbles”) led to…
(Encyclopedia) Bancroft, Anne, 1931–2005, American actress, b. New York City as Anna Maria Italiano. Her New York stage debut in Two for the Seesaw (1958) was a major triumph. She was acclaimed for…
(Encyclopedia) Vikings, Scandinavian warriors who raided the coasts of Europe and the British Isles from the 9th cent. to the 11th cent. In their language, the word “viking” originally meant a…
(Encyclopedia) RomanovRomanovrōˈmənŏf, Rus. rəmäˈnəf [key], ruling dynasty of Russia from 1613 to 1917. The name Romanov was adopted in the 16th cent. by a family of boyars (great nobles) that traced…
“Whatever is worn on the head is a sign of the mind beneath it.”—Alison Lurie, The Language of Clothes Hat pins, which were once used to hold large straw hats in place, can also be used as weapons…
(Encyclopedia) ComnenusComnenuskŏmnēˈnəs [key], family name of several Byzantine emperors—Isaac I, Alexius I, John II, Manuel I, Alexius II, and Andronicus I—who reigned in the 11th and 12th cent.,…
(Encyclopedia) PasadenaPasadenapăsˌədēˈnə [key]. 1 City (1990 pop. 131,591), Los Angeles co., S Calif., at the base of the San Gabriel Mts.; inc. 1866. The city is a research and technological center…
(Encyclopedia) Vladimir IVladimir Ivlădˈəmĭrˌ, Rus. vlədyēˈmĭr [key], Volodymyr IVladimir Ivŭlˌədyēˈmyĭr [key], or Saint Vladimir, d. 1015, first Christian grand duke of Kiev (c.980–1015); son of…