(Encyclopedia) Brice, Fanny or Fannie, 1891–1951, American comedienne, b. New York City as Fanny Borach. Brice appeared in burlesque and vaudeville from 1906. She starred in the Ziegfeld “Follies”…
(Encyclopedia) Ramanujan, SrinivasaRamanujan, Srinivasashrēˌnĭväˈsə rämäˈn&oobreve;jən [key], 1889–1920, Indian mathematician. He was a self-taught genius in pure mathematics who made original…
(Encyclopedia) recoilless rifle, light artillery piece, without recoil, usually operated by two men. An American invention, it was used as an infantry weapon for attacking fortifications such as…
(Encyclopedia) SemeleSemelesĕmˈĭlē [key], in Greek mythology, mother of Dionysus, daughter of Cadmus and Harmonia. Zeus, who loved her, appeared to her as a man. Semele asked him to come to her in…
(Encyclopedia) ProtesilausProtesilausprōˌtĕsĭlāˈəs [key], in Greek mythology, Thessalian prince who was killed in the Trojan War. A prophecy foretold that the first man who touched Trojan soil would…
(Encyclopedia) Perkin, Sir William Henry, 1838–1907, English chemist. In 1856 he discovered the first aniline dye (aniline purple, known as mauve and mauveine); by founding a factory to make it,…
actorBorn: 9/7/1923Birthplace: London, England Lawford is best known for his many roles as leading man in MGM films of the 1940s and 1950s ( The White Cliffs of Dover, 1944; The Picture of Dorian…
astronautDied: May 3, 2007 (San Diego, California) Best Known as: astronaut in three of NASA's earliest manned space programs The only astronaut to fly…
actorBorn: 12/3/1968Birthplace: Indianapolis, Indiana Actor whose beefy good looks and tendency to star in slapstick comedies belie some solid acting talent. On the one hand, Fraser has starred as…
musician, singer, song writerBirthplace: Cleveland, Ohio Harmonica man John Popper wanted to become a musician after seeing the film The Blues Brothers (1980). Popper tried the piano, the cello,…
