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Robbins, John Bennet

(Encyclopedia)Robbins, John Bennet, 1932–2019, American physician and microbiologist, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., M.D. New York Univ., 1959. He did research at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel and taught at the...

Ride, Sally Kristen

(Encyclopedia)Ride, Sally Kristen 1951–2012, American astrophysicist and astronaut, b. Encino, Calif. With an M.A. in physics (1975) and a Ph.D. in astrophysics from Stanford Univ., she joined NASA in 1978, where...

Novalis

(Encyclopedia)Novalis frēˈdrĭkh fən härˈdənbĕrk [key], 1772–1801, German poet. He studied philosophy under Schiller, Schlegel, and Fichte and was especially influenced by Fichte. He later studied geology....

nutcracker

(Encyclopedia)nutcracker, common name for a small crow of the genus Nucifraga in the family Corvidae (crow family). The Old World nutcracker (N. caryocatactes) is found throughout the colder regions of Europe, incl...

notochord

(Encyclopedia)notochord nōˈtəkôrdˌ [key], in biology, supporting rod running most of the length of animals of the phylum Chordata and present at varying times in the life cycle. Composed of large cells packed ...

Aznavour, Charles

(Encyclopedia)Aznavour, Charles, 1924–2018, French singer, songwriter, and actor, b. Paris as Shahnourh Varinag Aznavourian. The son of ethnic Armenian refugees, he began performing while a child. Edith Piaf made...

osprey

(Encyclopedia)osprey ŏsˈprē [key], common name for a fish-eating bird of prey found near water in most parts of the world. The osprey, or fish hawk, Pandion haliaetus, has brown upperparts and a grayish white he...

Vonnoh, Bessie Potter

(Encyclopedia)Vonnoh, Bessie Potter vŏnˈō [key], 1872–1955, American sculptor, b. St. Louis, studied under Lorado Taft at the Art Institute of Chicago. She was Taft's assistant in his work for the World's Colu...

Waller, Edmund

(Encyclopedia)Waller, Edmund, 1606–87, English poet. He studied at Eton and Cambridge and became a prominent speaker in Parliament at a young age. He married twice (1631 and 1644), but his early poems are address...

Wasserstein, Wendy

(Encyclopedia)Wasserstein, Wendy, 1950–2006, American playwright, b. Brooklyn, N.Y. Wasserstein, who made a place on the American stage for contemporary women and their concerns, explored such issues as love, ind...