(Encyclopedia) Aldrin, BuzzAldrin, Buzzôlˈdrĭn [key] (Edwin Eugene Aldrin, Jr.), 1930–, American astronaut, b. Montclair, N.J. After graduating from West Point (1951), Aldrin joined the U.S. air…
(Encyclopedia) Fellini, FedericoFellini, Federicofādārēˈkō fāl-lēˈnē [key], 1920–93, Italian film director. After World War II he wrote screenplays for such neorealistic films as Rossellini's Open…
(Encyclopedia) JoshuaJoshuajŏshˈ&oomacr;ə [key], book of the Bible. It is the first book of the Deuteronomic history (Joshua–2 Kings), in which the theological outlook of the Book of Deuteronomy…
(Encyclopedia) Mercer, Johnny (John Herndon Mercer)Mercer, Johnnymûrˈsər [key], 1909–76, American lyricist and songwriter, b. Savannah, Ga. Mercer, who was one of American popular music's most…
(Encyclopedia) Newcomb, SimonNewcomb, Simonn&oomacr;ˈkəm, ny&oomacr;ˈ– [key], 1835–1909, American astronomer, b. Nova Scotia, grad. Lawrence Scientific School, Harvard, 1858. Living in the…
(Encyclopedia) Laplace, Pierre Simon, marquis deLaplace, Pierre Simon, marquis depyĕr sēmôNˈ märkēˈ də läpläsˈ [key], 1749–1827, French astronomer and mathematician. At 18 he went to Paris, proved…
(Encyclopedia) Brahe, TychoBrahe, Tychotīˈkō brä [key], 1546–1601, Danish astronomer. The most prominent astronomer of the late 16th cent., he paved the way for future discoveries by improving…
(Encyclopedia) tektitetektitetĕktīt [key], naturally occurring, silica-rich (65%–80% SiO2) glass resembling obsidian and sometimes shale, and is normally jet black to olive green. They appear as…
(Encyclopedia) Van Allen, James Alfred, 1914–2006, American physicist and space scientist, Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. A graduate (Ph.D 1939) of and professor of physics (1951–85) at what is now the Univ. of…
(Encyclopedia) United States Naval Observatory, a federal astronomical observatory, located in Washington, D. C. It evolved from the Navy's oldest scientific institution, the Depot of Charts and…
