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Gates, Henry Louis, Jr.

(Encyclopedia)Gates, Henry Louis, Jr., 1950–, American scholar and critic, b. Keyser, W.Va., B.A. Yale, 1973, Ph.D. Cambridge, 1979, where he studied with Wole Soyinka. Gates is an expert on African-American lite...

oriole

(Encyclopedia)oriole, common name applied to various perching birds of the Old (family Oriolidae) and New (family Icteridae) Worlds. The European orioles are allied to the crows, while the American orioles, of the ...

Wilson, August

(Encyclopedia)Wilson, August, 1945–2005, American playwright and poet, b. Pittsburgh as Frederick August Kittel, Jr. Largely self-educated, Wilson first attracted wide critical attention with his Broadway debut, ...

graphite

(Encyclopedia)graphite grăfˈīt [key], an allotropic form of carbon, known also as plumbago and black lead. It is dark gray or black, crystalline (often in the form of slippery scales), greasy, and soft, with a m...

magpie

(Encyclopedia)magpie, common name for certain birds of the family Corvidae (crows and jays). The black-billed magpie, Pica pica or P. hudsonia, of W North America has iridescent black plumage, white wing patches an...

independent counsel

(Encyclopedia)independent counsel, in U.S. law, a judicially appointed investigator of charges of misdeeds by high government officials. Originally termed “special prosecutor,” the position was first created by...

Maxwell, Robert

(Encyclopedia)Maxwell, Robert (Ian Robert Maxwell), 1923–91, British business executive, b. Czechoslovakia as Jan Ludwik Hoch. He grew up in a tight-knit Jewish community. After fleeing the Nazis in 1939, Maxwell...

Papandreou, Andreas Georgiou

(Encyclopedia)Papandreou, Andreas Georgiou päˌpəndrāˈo͞o [key], 1919–96, Greek political leader, premier of Greece (1981–89, 1993–96), son of George Papandreou (1888–1968) and father of George Papandr...

Leopold II, king of the Belgians

(Encyclopedia)Leopold II, 1835–1909, king of the Belgians (1865–1909), son and successor of Leopold I. His reign saw great industrial and colonial expansion. In 1876 he organized, with the help of H. M. Stanley...

Toland, John

(Encyclopedia)Toland, John tōˈlənd [key], 1670–1722, British deist, b. Ireland. Brought up a Roman Catholic, Toland became a Protestant at 16. He studied at Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Leiden and after 1694 lived ...