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Shapur II

(Encyclopedia)Shapur II or Sapor II, 310–79, king of Persia (310–79), of the Sassanid, or Sassanian, dynasty. He was the posthumous son of Hormuz II and therefore was born king. His long reign was marked by gre...

pika

(Encyclopedia)pika pīˈkə [key], short-haired mammal related to rabbits and hares, also called mouse hare and rock rabbit. Pikas live above the timber line in the mountains of N Asia and W North America. The pika...

Bowring, Sir John

(Encyclopedia)Bowring, Sir John bouˈrĭng [key], 1792–1872, British diplomat, linguist, and writer. An extraordinarily versatile linguist, he is remembered for his anthologies and translations of poetry from man...

Ahmed I

(Encyclopedia)Ahmed I äˈmĕd [key], 1589–1617, Ottoman sultan (1603–17), son and successor of Muhammad III to the throne of the Ottoman Empire. The chief event of his reign was the Treaty of Zsitvatorok (1606...

waxbill

(Encyclopedia)waxbill, common name for small, brightly colored weaver finches of the Estrildini tribe of the family Estrildidae. Most are African with the exception of two S Asian species of avadavats, and one Aust...

Linklater, Richard Stuart

(Encyclopedia)Linklater, Richard Stuart, 1960–, American screenwriter, director, and actor, b. Houston. He dropped out of college and worked on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, then moved to Austin (1983), where...

Leachman, Cloris

(Encyclopedia)Leachman, Cloris, 1926-2021, American actress, b. Des Moines, Ia. Leachman began acting in children’s theater when she was seven, and studied drama a...

McCarthy, Mary Therese

(Encyclopedia)McCarthy, Mary Therese, 1912–89, American writer, b. Seattle, grad. Vassar, 1933. As drama critic for the Partisan Review (1937–45), she gained a reputation for wit, intellect, and acerbity. Her n...

Lubitsch, Ernst

(Encyclopedia)Lubitsch, Ernst lo͞oˈbĭch [key], 1892–1947, German-American film director, b. Berlin. He studied acting in his native city and in 1911 joined Max Reinhardt's theatre company. Lubitsch turned to d...

Luria, Isaac ben Solomon

(Encyclopedia)Luria or Loria, Isaac ben Solomon lo͝orˈēə, lôrˈ– [key], 1534–72, Jewish kabbalist, surnamed Ashkenazi, called Ari [lion] by his followers, b. Jerusalem. In his 20s he spent seven years in s...