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Abbado, Claudio

(Encyclopedia)Abbado, Claudio, 1933–2014, Italian conductor, b. Milan. He debuted (1960) in his native city, conducting the orchestra at La Scala, where he subsequently served (1968–86) as musical director. He ...

Schmidt, Wilhelm

(Encyclopedia)Schmidt, Wilhelm, 1868–1954, German linguist and anthropologist, a Roman Catholic priest. Educated at the universities of Berlin and Vienna, he entered the Society of the Divine Word in 1890. Residi...

Seghers, Anna

(Encyclopedia)Seghers, Anna äˈnä sēgərs [key], 1900–1983, German novelist, whose original name was Netty Reiling Rádvanyi. She won fame with her first novel of social protest, The Revolt of the Fishermen, (...

Burgess, John William

(Encyclopedia)Burgess, John William, 1844–1931, American educator and political scientist, b. Tennessee. He served in the Union army in the Civil War and after the war graduated from Amherst (1867). He was admitt...

Watteau, Jean-Antoine

(Encyclopedia)Watteau, Jean-Antoine wätōˈ, Fr. zhäNˈ-äNtwäNˈ vätōˈ [key], 1684–1721, French painter of Flemish descent, b. Valenciennes. Until 1704 poverty forced him to work in the shops of mediocre a...

Spartacus party

(Encyclopedia)Spartacus party or Spartacists, radical group of German Socialists, formed c.Mar., 1916, and led by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg. The name was derived from the pseudonym Spartacus used by Liebkn...

stove

(Encyclopedia)stove, device used for heating or for cooking food. The stove was long regarded as a cooking device supplementary to the fireplace, near which it stood; its stovepipe led into the fireplace chimney. I...

Cyclopean

(Encyclopedia)Cyclopean sīkləpēˈən [key], name often applied to a primitive method of prehistoric masonry construction, found throughout Greece, Italy, and the Middle East. The term is derived from Cyclopes, t...

esophagus

(Encyclopedia)esophagus ĭsŏfˈəgəs [key], portion of the digestive tube that conducts food from the mouth to the stomach. When food is swallowed it passes from the pharynx into the esophagus, initiating rhythmi...

horseshoe

(Encyclopedia)horseshoe, narrow plate, commonly of iron or steel, shaped to fit a horse's hoof and attached to the hoof by nailing it to the inner edge of the horny wall of the hoof. Horseshoes vary from the light ...