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diverticulosis

(Encyclopedia)diverticulosis, a disorder characterized by the presence of diverticula, which are small, usually multiple saclike protrusions through the wall of the colon (large intestine). Diverticula usually do n...

Cornplanter

(Encyclopedia)Cornplanter, c.1740–1836, chief of the Seneca. The son of a Native American mother and a white father, he acquired great influence among the Seneca and in the American Revolution led war parties for...

Albéniz, Isaac

(Encyclopedia)Albéniz, Isaac ēsäkˈ älbāˈnēth [key], 1860–1909, Spanish pianist and composer. He made his debut as a pianist at the age of four. When still young, he ran away from home and traveled in Nort...

Parrish, Maxfield

(Encyclopedia)Parrish, Maxfield, 1870–1966, American painter and illustrator, b. Philadelphia; pupil of Howard Pyle. He is known for his original and highly decorative posters, magazine covers, and book illustrat...

Rhyniophyta

(Encyclopedia)Rhyniophyta rīˌnēŏfˈətə [key], division of plants known only from fossils, of which the genus Rhynia was perhaps the most important. These plants date from the Silurian and Devonian age. Relati...

Otway, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Otway, Thomas, 1652–85, English dramatist, educated at Winchester and at Oxford. After failing as an actor, Otway wrote his first play, Alcibiades, produced in 1675. Later plays include the rhymed h...

Oistrakh, David Feodorovich

(Encyclopedia)Oistrakh, David Feodorovich oiˈsträk [key], 1908–74, Ukrainian violinist, b. Odessa. Encouraged by his father, an amateur violinist, he began to study his instrument at the age of five. He graduat...

Ormandy, Eugene

(Encyclopedia)Ormandy, Eugene ôrˈməndē [key], 1899–1985, American conductor, b. Budapest. At the age of five Ormandy entered the Budapest Conservatory, where he studied the violin. Graduating in 1914, he beca...

Villemain, Abel François

(Encyclopedia)Villemain, Abel François äbĕlˈ fräNswäˈ vēlmăNˈ [key], 1790–1870, French scholar and critic. He was a professor at the Sorbonne from 1816, held several government posts after 1830, and was...

bo tree

(Encyclopedia)bo tree or pipal pēˈpəl [key], fig tree (Ficus religiosa) of India held sacred by the Buddhists, who believe that Gautama received enlightenment under a bo tree at Bodh Gaya. A slip of this tree wa...