writerBorn: July 6, 1954Birthplace: Little Falls, Minnesota With recurring characters and themes, Louise Erdrich's fiction is steeped in the American Indian cultures of North Dakota, where she was…
athleteBorn: 12/20/1886Birthplace: Healdsburg, Calif. Hazel Virginia Hotchkiss entered the United States tennis championships in 1909 and won every event in which she entered—women's singles,…
(Encyclopedia) John VI, 1769–1826, king of Portugal (1816–26), son of Maria I and Peter III. When his mother became insane, John assumed the reins of government (1792), although he did not formally…
actressBorn: 5/14/1969Birthplace: Melbourne, Australia Born to a Texan father and an Australian mother, the Blanchett was 10 years old when her father died. A student of economics and fine arts at…
(Encyclopedia) Bacon, Francis, 1561–1626, English philosopher, essayist, and statesman, b. London, educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, and at Gray's Inn. He was the son of Sir Nicholas Bacon,…
(Encyclopedia) Sheridan, Richard Brinsley, 1751–1816, English dramatist and politician, b. Dublin. His father, Thomas Sheridan, was an actor and teacher of elocution and his mother, Frances Sheridan…
FOLEY, Thomas Stephen, a Representative from Washington; born in Spokane, Wash., March 6, 1929; graduated from Gonzaga High School, Spokane, Wash., 1946; A.B., University of Washington,…
Hades Takes a Wife: PersephoneClassical MythologyWhat the Hell? Adventures in the UnderworldHades Takes a Wife: PersephoneThe Cunning Rogue: SisyphusThe Not-So-Heavenly Host: TantalusUndying Love:…
(Encyclopedia) Tower of London, ancient fortress in London, England, just east of the City and on the north bank of the Thames, covering about 13 acres (5.3 hectares). Now used mainly as a museum, it…