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Whitehead, Gustave Albin

(Encyclopedia)Whitehead, Gustave Albin, 1874–1927, German inventor and airplane pioneer, b. Gustav Albin Weisskopf. He immigrated to the United States in 1893 and later Americanized his name, but never became a c...

Waldemar I

(Encyclopedia)Waldemar I (Waldemar the Great) wälˈdəmär [key], 1131–82, king of Denmark (1157–82). In 1147, Waldemar, Sweyn III, and Canute (son of Magnus the Strong and grandson of King Niels) each claimed...

Pevsner, Sir Nikolaus

(Encyclopedia)Pevsner, Sir Nikolaus pĕvzˈnər [key], 1902–83, English architectural historian, b. Germany. Influenced by Heinrich Wölfflin, Pevsner contended in his many works that art must be considered withi...

Richter, Sviatoslav

(Encyclopedia)Richter, Sviatoslav rĭkhˈtər [key], 1915–97, Russian pianist, b. Ukraine. He studied at the Moscow Conservatory under Heinrich Neuhaus. After earning an impressive critical reputation, he was aw...

Swiss literature

(Encyclopedia)Swiss literature. The literature of Switzerland is written in German, French, Italian, and Romansh, with German predominating. The extensive literature in Romansh dialect (see Rhaeto-Romanic) is littl...

National Museum of the American Indian

(Encyclopedia)National Museum of the American Indian, institution devoted to the collection, preservation, and presentation of the culture of the indigenous populations of the Western Hemisphere, a division of the ...

Anand, Viswanathan

(Encyclopedia)Anand, Viswanathan, 1969–, Indian chess player. India's youngest national champion at the age of 16, he won the world junior championship and earned the title of grandmaster in 1987. Anand achieved ...

American Civil Liberties Union

(Encyclopedia)American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), nonpartisan organization devoted to the preservation and extension of the basic rights set forth in the U.S. Constitution. Founded (1920) by such prominent figur...

Muhlenberg, William Augustus

(Encyclopedia)Muhlenberg, William Augustus myo͞oˈlənbûrg [key], 1796–1877, American Episcopal clergyman, hymn writer, and philanthropist, b. Philadelphia. He was a great-grandson of Heinrich Melchior Mühlenb...

Holbach, Paul Henri Thiry, baron d'

(Encyclopedia)Holbach, Paul Henri Thiry, baron d' poulˈ hīnˈrĭkh dētrĭkh bärōnˈ fŭn hôlˈbäkh [key], 1723–89, French philosopher, one of the Encyclopedists. Although a native of the Palatinate, he liv...