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Fiske, John

(Encyclopedia)Fiske, John, 1842–1901, American philosopher and historian, b. Hartford, Conn. Born Edmund Fisk Green, he changed his name in 1855 to John Fisk, adding the final e in 1860. He opened a law practice ...

Amaral, Tarsila do

(Encyclopedia)Amaral, Tarsila do, 1886–1973, Brazilian painter, usually known as Tarsila. She brought modern art to Brazil, mingling Brazilian themes with modernistic imagery in her paintings. After studying in B...

sea snake

(Encyclopedia)sea snake, name for any of the venomous marine snakes of the family Hydrophidae, found in tropical waters of the Indian and Pacific oceans. The sea snake's body is flattened laterally and its oarlike ...

Psilotophyta

(Encyclopedia)Psilotophyta sīlōˌtŏfˈətə [key], division of vascular plants consisting of only two genera, Psilotum and Tmesipteris, with very few species. These plants are characterized by the lack of roots,...

walking stick

(Encyclopedia)walking stick or stick insect, names applied to extremely longbodied, slow-moving, herbivorous insects, forming a single family in the order Phasmatodea. Walking sticks have green, gray, or brown bodi...

Xerxes I

(Encyclopedia)Xerxes I (Xerxes the Great) zûrkˈsēz [key], d. 465 b.c., king of ancient Persia (486–465 b.c.). His name in Old Persian is Khshayarsha, in the Bible Ahasuerus. He was the son of Darius I and Atos...

Zanuck, Darryl Francis

(Encyclopedia)Zanuck, Darryl Francis, 1902–79, American movie producer, b. Wahoo, Nebr. Beginning his Hollywood career as a scriptwriter, he was hired (1924) by Warner Brothers and made a name for himself penning...

bile

(Encyclopedia)bile, bitter alkaline fluid of a yellow, brown, or green color, secreted, in man, by the liver. Bile, or gall, is composed of water, bile acids and their salts, bile pigments, cholesterol, fatty acids...

Whitney, Eli

(Encyclopedia)Whitney, Eli, 1765–1825, American inventor of the cotton gin, b. Westboro, Mass., grad. Yale, 1792. When he was staying as tutor at Mulberry Grove, the plantation of Mrs. Nathanael Greene, Whitney w...

blowfly

(Encyclopedia)blowfly, name for flies of the family Calliphoridae. Blowflies are about the same size as, and resemble, the housefly; because they are usually metallic blue or green they are also called bluebottle o...