(Encyclopedia) Styron, William, 1925–2006, American novelist, b. Newport News, Va., grad. Duke, 1947. His fiction is often powerful, deeply felt, poetic, and elegiac. He became well known for his…
(Encyclopedia) ValentinusValentinusvăləntēˈnəs [key], fl. c.135–c.160, founder of the Valentinians, the most celebrated of the Gnostic sects (see Gnosticism) of the 2d cent. The little that is known…
(Encyclopedia) Blavatsky, Helena PetrovnaBlavatsky, Helena Petrovnablətvătˈskē [key], 1831–91, Russian theosophist and occultist. She was the daughter of a German named Hahn who had settled in Russia…
(Encyclopedia) biochemistry, science concerned chiefly with the chemistry of biological processes; it attempts to utilize the tools and concepts of chemistry, particularly organic and physical…
(Encyclopedia) Berry, Wendell Erdman, 1934–, American farmer, environmentalist, and writer, b. Henry co., Ky., grad. Univ of Kentucky (B.A., 1956; M.A., 1957). He taught at various colleges including…
(Encyclopedia) Eulenspiegel, TillEulenspiegel, Tilltĭl oiˈlən-shpēˌgəl [key] [Ger.,=owl-mirror, hence English Owlglass], a north German peasant clown of the 14th cent. who was immortalized in…
(Encyclopedia) Goldschmidt, Meïr AaronGoldschmidt, Meïr Aaronmīˈər äˈrôn gôlˈshmĭt [key], 1819–97, Danish novelist, dramatist, and journalist. In his critical weekly Corsaren, he first spared, then…
(Encyclopedia) Norton, Charles Eliot, 1827–1908, American scholar and teacher, b. Cambridge, Mass., grad. Harvard, 1846. As professor of the history of art at Harvard (1875–98) and as a man of…
(Encyclopedia) MalibuMalibumălˈĭb&oomacr; [key], resort and residential city (2010 pop. 12,645), S Calif., W of Los Angeles and near Santa Monica, inc. 1991. Due to its relative reclusiveness,…
(Encyclopedia) Li Ch'ing-chaoLi Ch'ing-chaolēˈ chĭngˌ-chouˈ [key], 1084?–c.1151, Chinese poet. Li's 78 extant song lyrics [tz'u] have earned her a reputation as a master of lyrical poetry. She…