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Esau

(Encyclopedia)Esau ēˈsô [key] [Heb.,=hairy], in the Bible, son of Isaac, who sold his birthright to his younger twin, Jacob, for lentil stew and who was tricked by Jacob out of his father's blessing. Also known ...

Merian, Matthäus

(Encyclopedia)Merian, Matthäus māˈrēän [key], the elder, 1593–1650, Swiss engraver and draftsman. In Frankfurt am Main from c.1623, he produced, with help from assistants, numerous engravings of battles and...

Northumberland, Algernon Percy, 10th earl of

(Encyclopedia)Northumberland, Algernon Percy, 10th earl of nôrthŭmˈbərlənd [key], 1602–68, English nobleman. He was created Baron Percy in 1626 and succeeded his father as earl in 1632. Charles I in 1638 mad...

Pousette-Dart, Richard

(Encyclopedia)Pousette-Dart, Richard, 1916–92, American painter, b. St. Paul, Minn. The son of an artist and a poet and largely self-taught, he was a member of the first generation of abstract expressionism. He l...

Cetshwayo

(Encyclopedia)Cetshwayo, Ketchwayo sĕtĭwāˈō, –wīˈō, kĕ– [key], c.1836–1884, king of the Zulus. Cetshwayo gained ascendancy in 1856, when he defeated in battle and killed his younger brother, who was...

Villaurrutia, Xavier

(Encyclopedia)Villaurrutia, Xavier hävēˈār vēˌyäo͞oro͞oˈtyä [key], 1903–50, Mexican poet and playwright. Villaurrutia was deeply influenced by Ramón López Velarde. He worked on the Mexican literary r...

Benedetti, Mario

(Encyclopedia)Benedetti, Mario, 1920–2009, Uruguayan writer, one of Latin America's most popular, influential, and prolific authors. The son of Italian immigrants, he grew up and was educated in Montevideo. Bened...

Somoza Debayle, Anastasio

(Encyclopedia)Somoza Debayle, Anastasio änästäsˈyō sōmōˈsä ᵺābīˈlā [key], 1925–80, president of Nicaragua (1967–72, 1974—79). The younger son of dictator Anastasio Somoza, he was educated in th...

Bibulus

(Encyclopedia)Bibulus (Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus) bĭbˈyo͝oləs [key], d. 48 b.c., Roman statesman. The colleague in the consulship with Julius Caesar in 59 b.c., he did everything in his power to block each move...

Zähringen

(Encyclopedia)Zähringen tsĕrˈĭng-ən [key], noble German family. It took its name from a now ruined castle near Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden, and can be traced to the 10th cent. The family held extensive fiefs i...