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Caesar, Julius

(Encyclopedia)Caesar, Julius (Caius Julius Caesar), 100? b.c.–44 b.c., Roman statesman and general. Caesar has always been one of the most controversial characters of history. His admirers have seen in him the ...

Royal Ballet

(Encyclopedia)Royal Ballet, the principal British ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London. It is noted for lavish dramatic productions, a superbly disciplined corps de ballet, and bril...

Baker, Sir Benjamin

(Encyclopedia)Baker, Sir Benjamin, 1840–1907, English civil engineer. He helped build London's underground railway, Tower Bridge, and the Blackwall Tunnel, and with Sir John Fowler he designed and built the bridg...

pulsar

(Encyclopedia)pulsar, in astronomy, a neutron star that emits brief, sharp pulses of energy instead of the steady radiation associated with other natural sources. The study of pulsars began when Antony Hewish and h...

Ptolemy VI

(Encyclopedia)Ptolemy VI (Ptolemy Philometor) fĭləmēˈtər [key], d. 145 b.c., king of ancient Egypt (180–145 b.c.), of the Macedonian dynasty, son of Ptolemy V. He became king when an infant, and his mother, ...

oratory

(Encyclopedia)oratory, the art of swaying an audience by eloquent speech. In ancient Greece and Rome oratory was included under the term rhetoric, which meant the art of composing as well as delivering a speech. Or...

Drusus

(Encyclopedia)Drusus dro͞oˈsəs [key], Roman family of the gens Livius. An early distinguished member was Marcus Livius Drusus, d. 109? b.c., tribune of the people (122) with Caius Sempronius Gracchus (see under ...

W and Z particles

(Encyclopedia)W and Z particles, elementary particles that mediate, or carry, the fundamental force associated with weak interactions. The discovery of the W and Z particles at CERN near Geneva, Switzerland, in the...

Harrison, Rex

(Encyclopedia)Harrison, Rex, 1908–90, English actor. Born Reginald Carey, he entered repertory theater at 16 as an apprentice. Harrison, noted for his suave, insouciant style, has appeared in many plays, includin...

Lohenstein, Daniel Caspar von

(Encyclopedia)Lohenstein, Daniel Caspar von däˈnēĕl käsˈpär fən lōˈənshtīn [key], 1635–83, German dramatist, novelist, and poet. Lohenstein is credited with having created baroque tragedy in Germany. ...