(Encyclopedia) Ade, George, 1866–1944, American humorist and dramatist, b. Kentland, Ind., grad. Purdue Univ., 1887. His newspaper sketches and books attracted attention for their racy and slangy…
(Encyclopedia) William of MalmesburyWilliam of Malmesburymämzˈbərē [key], c.1096–1143, English writer, monk of Malmesbury. His most important work is the Gesta regum Anglorum, a history of the kings…
(Encyclopedia) Gray, Thomas, 1716–71, English poet. He was educated at Eton and Peterhouse, Cambridge. In 1739 he began a grand tour of the Continent with Horace Walpole. They quarreled in Italy, and…
(Encyclopedia) Duchamp, MarcelDuchamp, Marcelmärsĕlˈ düshäNˈ [key], 1887–1968, French painter, brother of Raymond Duchamp-Villon and half-brother of Jacques Villon. Duchamp is noted for his cubist-…
(Encyclopedia) federal government or federation, government of a union of states in which sovereignty is divided between a central authority and component state authorities. A federation differs from…
(Encyclopedia) Pynchon, ThomasPynchon, Thomaspĭnˈchən [key], 1937–, American novelist, b. Glen Cove, N.Y., grad. Cornell, 1958. Pynchon is noted for his amazingly fertile imagination, his wild sense…
(Encyclopedia) Richter, GerhardRichter, Gerhardgārˈhärt rĭkhˈtər [key], 1932–, German painter, b. Dresden, studied Academy of Fine Arts, Dresden (1951–56) and Düsseldorf (1961–63). Widely considered…
(Encyclopedia) Pessoa, Fernando (Fernando António Nogueira Pessoa)Pessoa, Fernandopĕsˈwä [key], 1888–1935, Portuguese poet, b. Lisbon. He moved to Durban, South Africa, as a child, becoming bilingual…
(Encyclopedia) Bowles, Paul, 1910–99, American writer and composer, b. New York City. He studied in Paris with Virgil Thomson and Aaron Copland and composed (1930s–40s) a number of modernist operas,…