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Sternheim, Carl

(Encyclopedia)Sternheim, Carl kärl shtĕrnˈhīm [key], 1878–1943, German dramatist. In his successful comedy Die Hose (1911, tr. A Pair of Drawers, 1927) and in his later works he satirized as corrupt the manne...

Shirley, James

(Encyclopedia)Shirley, James, 1596–1666, English dramatist. Ordained in the Church of England, he later was converted to Roman Catholicism and became a schoolmaster. He resigned that position, however, soon after...

Reymont, Władysław Stanisław

(Encyclopedia)Reymont, Władysław Stanisław vlädĭsˈläf stänēsˈläf rāˈmônt [key], 1867?–1925, Polish short-story writer and novelist. Reymont's poverty-stricken farm childhood and his early manhood as...

Robertson, Thomas William

(Encyclopedia)Robertson, Thomas William, 1829–71, English dramatist and actor; brother of Madge Kendal. After spending several years as an actor, he turned to playwriting, initiating the “cup and saucer” scho...

Prus, Bolesław

(Encyclopedia)Prus, Bolesław bôlĕsläfˈ pro͞os [key], 1845?–1912, Polish writer, whose original name was Alexander Głowacki. Prus is considered a founder of the modern Polish novel. His articles and short s...

division of labor

(Encyclopedia)division of labor, in economics, the specialization of the functions and roles involved in production. Division of labor is closely tied with the standardization of production, the introduction and pe...

Francis Xavier, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Francis Xavier, Saint, 1506–52, Basque Jesuit missionary, called the Apostle to the Indies, b. Spanish Navarre, of noble parents. He studied in Paris (1525–34), where he became an associate of St....

Sheridan, Richard Brinsley

(Encyclopedia)Sheridan, Richard Brinsley, 1751–1816, English dramatist and politician, b. Dublin. His father, Thomas Sheridan, was an actor and teacher of elocution and his mother, Frances Sheridan, published two...

spiritism

(Encyclopedia)spiritism or spiritualism, belief that the human personality continues to exist after death and can communicate with the living through the agency of a medium or psychic. The advocates of spiritism ar...

descent

(Encyclopedia)descent, in anthropology, method of classifying individuals in terms of their various kinship connections. Matrilineal and patrilineal descent refer to the mother's or father's sib (or other group), r...