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Monroe, Bill

(Encyclopedia)Monroe, Bill (William Smith Monroe), 1911–96, country singer, musician, and songwriter, often called the “father of bluegrass,” b. Rosine, Ky. A m...

performance art

(Encyclopedia)performance art, multimedia art form originating in the 1970s in which performance is the dominant mode of expression. Perfomance art may incorporate such elements as instrumental or electronic music,...

Triangle Waist Company

(Encyclopedia)Triangle Waist Company, often called the Triangle Shirtwaist Co., manufacturers of women's cotton and linen blouses. Located in lower Manhattan in the early 20th cent., on Mar. 25, 1911 it was the sit...

smuggling

(Encyclopedia)smuggling, illegal transport across state or national boundaries of goods or persons liable to customs or to prohibition. Smuggling has been carried on in nearly all nations and has occasionally been ...

Rainey, Gertrude "Ma"

(Encyclopedia)Rainey, Gertrude "Ma," 1886–1939, African-American blues singer and songwriter, b. Columbus, Ga., as Gertrude Melissa Nix Pridgett. Rainey's place and...

balance of trade

(Encyclopedia)balance of trade, relation between the merchandise exports and imports of a country. The concept first became important in the 16th and 17th cent. with the growth of mercantilism. Mercantilist theoris...

Emin Pasha

(Encyclopedia)Emin Pasha āmēnˈ päˈshä [key], 1840–92, German explorer, whose original name was Eduard Schnitzer. A physician, he served (1876–78) under Gen. Charles Gordon in Sudan as a district medical o...

Hamann, Johann Georg

(Encyclopedia)Hamann, Johann Georg yōˈhän gāˈôrk häˈmən [key], 1730–88, German Protestant theologian, b. Königsberg (now Kaliningrad). Although opposed to the rationalism of Kant and the German Enlighte...

André, John

(Encyclopedia)André, John ändrāˈ, ănˈdrē [key], 1751–80, British spy in the American Revolution. He was captured (1775) by Gen. Richard Montgomery in the Quebec campaign but was exchanged and became adjuta...

Gournay, Vincent de

(Encyclopedia)Gournay, Vincent de văNsäNˈ də go͞ornāˈ [key], 1712–59, French economist, precursor of the physiocrats and of Adam Smith. A wealthy merchant, he was in government service as intendant of comm...