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Cork, city, Ireland

(Encyclopedia)Cork, city, county town of Co. Cork, S Republic of Ireland, on the Lee River near its mouth on Cork Harbour. The oldest part of the town rests on an isl...

Ziegfeld, Florenz

(Encyclopedia)Ziegfeld, Florenz flôrˈənz zēgˈfĕld [key], 1869–1932, American theatrical producer, b. Chicago. The talent manager son of a German immigrant, in 1907 he first produced the Ziegfeld Follies, fo...

reed organ

(Encyclopedia)reed organ, an organ in which air is forced over free reeds by means of bellows, usually worked by pedals. It is played by the use of one or more keyboards. Variations in tone are produced by stops th...

Stoughton, William

(Encyclopedia)Stoughton, William stōˈtən [key], 1631–1701, American colonial statesman. He was probably born in England but studied at Harvard (grad. 1650) before attending New College, Oxford (M.A., 1653). At...

clipper

(Encyclopedia)clipper, type of sailing ship, designed for speed. Long and narrow, the clipper had the greatest beam aft of the center; the bow cleaved the waves; and the ship carried, besides topgallant and royal s...

Slidell, John

(Encyclopedia)Slidell, John slīdĕlˈ, slīˈdəl [key], 1793–1871, American political leader and diplomat, b. New York City. He became a prominent lawyer and political figure in New Orleans and served as a Demo...

Ostend Manifesto

(Encyclopedia)Ostend Manifesto, document drawn up in Oct., 1854, at Ostend, Belgium, by James Buchanan, American minister to Great Britain, John Y. Mason, minister to France, and Pierre Soulé, minister to Spain. W...

Dillard, Annie

(Encyclopedia)Dillard, Annie, 1945–, American writer, b. Pittsburgh, Pa., as Meta Ann Doak, grad. Hollins College (B.A., 1967; M.A., 1968). She has taught writing at Western Washington Univ. and Wesleyan Univ. Th...

Gothic romance

(Encyclopedia)Gothic romance, type of novel that flourished in the late 18th and early 19th cent. in England. Gothic romances were mysteries, often involving the supernatural and heavily tinged with horror, and the...

Sagan, Carl Edward

(Encyclopedia)Sagan, Carl Edward sāˈgən [key], 1934–96, American astronomer and popularizer of science, b. New York City. Early in his career he investigated radio emissions from Venus and concluded that the c...