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De Niro, Robert Anthony Jr.

(Encyclopedia) De Niro, Robert Anthony, Jr., 1943-, American film actor and director, b. New York, N.Y. Both of De Niro’s parents were painters; De Niro was raised...

Lessing, Doris

(Encyclopedia)Lessing, Doris, 1919–2013, British novelist, b. Kermanshah, Persia (now Iran) as Doris May Tayler. Largely self-educated, she was brought up on a farm in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), and in 194...

locomotive

(Encyclopedia)locomotive, vehicle used to pull a train of unpowered railroad cars. Richard Trevithick, a British engineer and inventor, built and operated (1803–4) the first successful steam engine locomotive f...

Beethoven, Ludwig van

(Encyclopedia)Beethoven, Ludwig van lŭdˈwĭg văn bāˈtōvən, Ger. lo͝otˈvĭkh fän bātˈhōfən [key], 1770–1827, German composer. He is universally recognized as one of the greatest composers of the West...

existentialism

(Encyclopedia)existentialism ĕgzĭstĕnˈshəlĭzəm, ĕksĭ– [key], any of several philosophic systems, all centered on the individual and his relationship to the universe or to God. Important existentialists o...

Apocrypha

(Encyclopedia)Apocrypha əpŏkˈrĭfə [key] [Gr.,=hidden things], term signifying a collection of early Jewish writings excluded from the canon of the Hebrew scriptures. It is not clear why the term was chosen. Th...

Milwaukee

(Encyclopedia)Milwaukee mĭlwŏkˈē [key], city (1990 pop. 628,088), seat of Milwaukee co., SE Wis., at the point where the Milwaukee, Menominee, and Kinnickinnic rivers enter Lake Michigan; inc. 1846. The largest...

Kandinsky, Wassily

(Encyclopedia)Kandinsky, Wassily or Vasily kăndĭnˈskē, Rus. vəsēˈlyē kəndyēnˈskē [key], 1866–1944, Russian abstract painter and theorist. Usually regarded as the originator of abstract art, Kandinsky ...

Copley, John Singleton, American portrait painter

(Encyclopedia)Copley, John Singleton kŏpˈlē [key], 1738–1815, American portrait painter, b. Boston. Copley is considered the greatest of the American old masters. He studied with his stepfather, Peter Pelham, ...

Stuart, Gilbert

(Encyclopedia)Stuart, Gilbert, 1755–1828, American portrait painter, b. North Kingstown, R.I., best known for his portraits of George Washington. Having shown an early talent for drawing, he became the pupil of C...