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Montaigne, Michel Eyquem, seigneur de

(Encyclopedia)Montaigne, Michel Eyquem, seigneur de mŏntānˈ, Fr. mēshĕlˈ ākĕmˈ sānyörˈ də môNtĕnˈyə [key], 1533–92, French essayist. Montaigne was one of the greatest masters of the essay as a li...

Pollock, Jackson

(Encyclopedia)Pollock, Jackson, 1912–56, American painter, b. Cody, Wyo. He studied (1929–31) in New York City, mainly under Thomas Hart Benton, but he was more strongly influenced by A. P. Ryder and the Mexica...

Brando, Marlon

(Encyclopedia)Brando, Marlon, 1924–2004, American film actor, often described as the greatest of his generation, b. Omaha, Nebr. Regarded as the foremost practitioner of “method” acting as taught by American ...

Langley Air Force Base

(Encyclopedia)Langley Air Force Base, U.S. military installation, 3,195 acres (1,293 hectares), SE Va., N of Hampton; est. 1917 and named for aviation pioneer Samuel P. Langley, amalgamated 2010 with Fort Eustis in...

Lamar, Joseph Rucker

(Encyclopedia)Lamar, Joseph Rucker ləmärˈ [key], 1857–1916, American jurist, b. Elbert co., Ga. He was admitted to the Georgia bar in 1878, served (1886–89) in the state legislature, and compiled The Code of...

Guys, Constantin

(Encyclopedia)Guys, Constantin gois [key], 1805?–1892, French watercolorist and draftsman, b. Holland. His work was published anonymously, most frequently in the Illustrated London News. Most of his witty drawing...

Junius, Franciscus

(Encyclopedia)Junius, Franciscus, 1589–1677, French philologist; son of Franciscus Junius (1545–1602), French Huguenot theologian. The younger Franciscus Junius was born in Heidelberg and lived chiefly in Holla...

Field, John

(Encyclopedia)Field, John, 1782–1837, Irish composer and pianist. In London he studied with Clementi, with whom he later toured Europe. In 1804 he settled in Russia. Field was a successful pianist and his style o...

Shaw, Robert Gould

(Encyclopedia)Shaw, Robert Gould, 1837–63, Union hero in the American Civil War, b. Boston. An ardent white abolitionist, he was colonel of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment, the first body of black troops raised i...

Bajer, Fredrik

(Encyclopedia)Bajer, Fredrik frāᵺˈrĭk bīˈər [key], 1837–1922, Danish pacifist and writer. He helped found the International Peace Bureau at Bern in 1891, and he shared the 1908 Nobel Peace Prize with K. P...