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Irving, Washington

(Encyclopedia)Irving, Washington, 1783–1859, American author and diplomat, b. New York City. Irving was one of the first Americans to be recognized abroad as a man of letters, and he was a literary idol at home. ...

Amundsen, Roald

(Encyclopedia)Amundsen, Roald (Roald Engelbregt Grauning Amundsen) rōˈäl äˈmo͝onsən [key], 1872–1928, Norwegian polar explorer; the first person to reach the South Pole. He served (1897–99) as first mate...

postmodernism

(Encyclopedia)postmodernism, term used to designate a multitude of trends—in the arts, philosophy, religion, technology, and many other areas—that come after and deviate from the many 20th-cent. movements that ...

Harney, William Selby

(Encyclopedia)Harney, William Selby, 1800–1889, American general, b. Haysboro, near Nashville, Tenn. He entered the army in 1818 and gained a colonel's rank in the Florida campaigns against Native Americans. Rank...

Johnson, Reverdy

(Encyclopedia)Johnson, Reverdy, 1796–1876, American lawyer and statesman, b. Annapolis, Md. Admitted to the bar in 1816, he served in the Maryland legislature (1821–28) and the U.S. Senate (1845–49) and was a...

Manzoni, Alessandro

(Encyclopedia)Manzoni, Alessandro älās-sänˈdrō mändzôˈnē [key], 1785–1873, Italian novelist and poet. Taken in his youth to Paris by his mother in 1805, Manzoni embraced the deism that he was later to di...

Somers, John Somers, Baron

(Encyclopedia)Somers, John Somers or Sommers, Baron sŭmˈərz [key], 1651–1716, English jurist and statesman. In the Glorious Revolution he secured Parliament's acceptance of the official statement that James II...

Sidney, Algernon

(Encyclopedia)Sidney or Sydney, Algernon, 1622–83, English politician; son of Robert Sidney, earl of Leicester. He served in the parliamentary forces during the English civil war and was a member (1652–53) of t...

creationism

(Encyclopedia)creationism or creation science, belief in the biblical account of the creation of the world as described in Genesis, a characteristic especially of fundamentalist Protestantism (see fundamentalism). ...

Davenport

(Encyclopedia)Davenport, city (2020 pop. 101,724), seat of Scott co., E central Iowa, on the Mississippi River; inc. 1836. Bridges connect it with the Illinois cities...