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De Quincey, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)De Quincey, Thomas də kwĭnˈsē [key], 1785–1859, English essayist. In 1802 he ran away from school and tramped about the country, eventually settling in London. His family soon found him and ente...

multiple sclerosis

(Encyclopedia)multiple sclerosis (MS), chronic, slowly progressive autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system attacks the protective myelin sheaths that surround the nerve cells of the brain and spinal co...

boiler

(Encyclopedia)boiler, device for generating steam. It consists of two principal parts: the furnace, which provides heat, usually by burning a fuel, and the boiler proper, a device in which the heat changes water in...

vivisection

(Encyclopedia)vivisection vĭvˌĭsĕkˈshən [key], dissection of living animals for experimental purposes. The use of the term in recent years has been expanded to include all experimentation on living animals, r...

Filene, Edward Albert

(Encyclopedia)Filene, Edward Albert fīlēnˈ, fĭl– [key], 1860–1937, American merchant, b. Salem, Mass. As president of the Boston firm of William Filene's Sons he pioneered in scientific and ingenious method...

Hopkins, Harry Lloyd

(Encyclopedia)Hopkins, Harry Lloyd, 1890–1946, American public official, b. Sioux City, Iowa. A social worker, he was appointed (1931) head of New York's Temporary Emergency Relief Administration by Franklin Dela...

Andrée, Salomon August

(Encyclopedia)Andrée, Salomon August säˈlo͞omôn ouˈgəst ändrāˈ [key], 1854–97, Swedish polar explorer, grad. Royal Inst. of Technology, Stockholm. An aeronautical engineer and head of the Swedish patent...

Brownlow, William Gannaway

(Encyclopedia)Brownlow, William Gannaway brounˈlō [key], 1805–77, U.S. politician, governor of Tennessee (1865–69), known as the “Fighting Parson,” b. Wythe co., Va. Brownlow won a large following in E Te...

Sturza, Dimitrie A.

(Encyclopedia)Sturza or Sturdza, Dimitrie A. both: dēmēˈtrēyĕ sto͝orˈdzə [key], 1833–1914, Romanian statesman, of a prominent Moldavian family. With Ion Bratianu and Constantin Rosetti he helped bring abo...

Ryle, Gilbert

(Encyclopedia)Ryle, Gilbert, 1900–1976, British philosopher. A graduate of Oxford, he became a tutor at Christ Church, Oxford, and later was Waynflete professor of metaphysical philosophy (1945–68) there. From ...