(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,…
(Encyclopedia) Vian, BorisVian, Borisbôrēsˈ vyäN [key], 1920–59, French novelist. He patterned his literary style on that of terse American crime fiction. His best-known work is J'irai cracher sur…
actorDied: April 30, 2007 (Los Angeles, California) Best Known as: actor in Steve Allen's "man on the street" Emmy-winning actor who specialized in playing the…
Punctuation MattersPunctuationPunctuation MattersPeriod, Question Mark, Exclamation Mark: The End of the LineThe Comma: A Major PlayerThe Semicolon: Love Child of the Comma and the PeriodThe Colon:…
Born: Sep 13, 1967Track & Field Shattered world record in 200m (19.32) and set Olympic record in 400m (43.49) to become first man to win the gold in both races in the same Olympic Games at…
In ancient times, the body ruled when it came to measuring. The length of a foot, the width of a finger, and the distance of a step were all accepted measurements. Inch: At first an inch was the…
(Encyclopedia) horror or horror story, literary genre in which an eerie, tense, often suspenseful atmosphere typically builds to the discovery of something repugnant, such as cannibalism, incest, or…
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…
(Encyclopedia) Roth, Philip (Philip Milton Roth), 1933–2018, American author, one of the most important novelists of the 20th cent., b. Newark, N.J., B.A. Bucknell Univ., 1954, M.A. Univ. of Chicago…