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West, Benjamin

(Encyclopedia)West, Benjamin, 1738–1820, American historical painter who worked in England. He was born in Springfield, Pa., in a house that is now a memorial museum at Swarthmore College. After some instruction ...

Leipzig

(Encyclopedia)Leipzig līpˈtsĭkh [key], city (1994 pop. 490,850), Saxony, E central Germany, at the confluence of the Pleisse, White Elster, and Parthe rivers. Originally a Slavic settlement called Lipsk, Leipz...

communications industry

(Encyclopedia)communications industry, broadly defined, the business of conveying information. Although communication by means of symbols and gestures dates to the beginning of human history, the term generally ref...

Anna, czarina of Russia

(Encyclopedia)Anna (Anna Ivanovna) änˈnə ĭväˈnôvnə [key], 1693–1740, czarina of Russia (1730–40), daughter of Ivan V and niece of Peter I (Peter the Great). On the death of her distant cousin, Peter II,...

Acton, John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton, 1st Baron

(Encyclopedia)Acton, John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton, 1st Baron, 1834–1902, English historian, b. Naples; grandson of Sir John Francis Edward Acton and of Emmerich Joseph, duc de Dalberg. Denied entrance into C...

suite

(Encyclopedia)suite swēt [key], in music, instrumental form derived from dance and consisting of a series of movements usually in the same key but contrasting in rhythm and mood. The principle of the suite can be ...

conducting

(Encyclopedia)conducting, in music, the art of unifying the efforts of a number of musicians simultaneously engaged in musical performance. In the Middle Ages and Renaissance the conductor was primarily a time beat...

Petra

(Encyclopedia)Petra pēˈtrə [key], ancient city, in present-day Jordan, known to the Arabs as Wadi Musa for the stream that flows through it. A narrow, winding pass between towering walls leads to the flat, open ...

Pan-Slavism

(Encyclopedia)Pan-Slavism, theory and movement intended to promote the political or cultural unity of all Slavs. Advocated by various individuals from the 17th cent., it developed as an intellectual and cultural mo...

Freemasonry

(Encyclopedia)Freemasonry, teachings and practices of the secret fraternal order officially known as the Free and Accepted Masons, or Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. Because of its identification with 19th-cent...