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Lardner, Ring

(Encyclopedia)Lardner, Ring (Ringgold Wilmer Lardner), 1885–1933, American humorist and short-story writer, b. Niles, Mich. He was a sports reporter in Chicago, St. Louis, and Boston from 1907 to 1919. His first ...

Mitchum, Robert

(Encyclopedia)Mitchum, Robert (Robert Charles Duran Mitchum), 1917–97, American film actor, b. Bridgeport, Conn. He found extra work and bit parts in early 1940s movies, and first achieved wide notice for his sup...

Asimov, Isaac

(Encyclopedia)Asimov, Isaac ăzˈəmŏf [key], 1920–92, American author and scientist, b. Petrovichi, USSR, grad. Columbia (B.S., 1939; M.A., 1941; Ph.D., 1948). An astonishingly prolific author, he wrote over 40...

Kermode, Sir Frank

(Encyclopedia)Kermode, Sir Frank kärˈmədē [key], 1919–2010, English critic, b. Douglas, Isle of Man. Educated at Liverpool Univ. (grad. 1940) and a lieutenant in the Royal Navy during World War II, Kermode wa...

Sunita, Narain

(Encyclopedia)Sunita, Narain, 1961–, Indian writer and environmentalist, b. New Delhi, India, graduated from University of Delhi, honorary degrees from Cranfield ...

Andreyev, Leonid Nikolayevich

(Encyclopedia)Andreyev, Leonid Nikolayevich lyāənyētˈ nyĭkəlīˈəvĭch əndrāˈyəf [key], 1871–1919, Russian writer. Andreyev's early stories were realistic studies of everyday life. Gorky was attracted ...

Ford, John, American film director

(Encyclopedia)Ford, John, 1895–1973, American film director, b. Cape Elizabeth, Maine, as John Martin Feeney. Ford began directing in 1917 after an apprenticeship with his brother Francis. Over the next 50 years,...

Hughes, John Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Hughes, John Joseph, 1797–1864, American Roman Catholic churchman, b. Co. Tyrone, Ireland. He joined his family in the United States in 1817 and on graduating from Mt. St. Mary's College, Emmitsburg...

Divine, Father

(Encyclopedia)Divine, Father, c.1882–1965, African-American religious leader, founder of the Peace Mission movement, b. probably near Savannah, Ga. and named George Baker. After preaching in the South, he moved t...

Dowson, Ernest Christopher

(Encyclopedia)Dowson, Ernest Christopher douˈsən [key], 1867–1900, English poet. He attended Queens College, Oxford, but left in 1888 without taking a degree. Dowson's life was tragic. In 1894 his father died, ...