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Maturin, Charles Robert

(Encyclopedia)Maturin, Charles Robert mătˈyo͝orĭn [key], 1782–1824, Irish author. A minister by vocation, he wrote novels in the manner of the Gothic horror tale of Ann Ward Radcliffe. They include The Fatal ...

abracadabra

(Encyclopedia)abracadabra ăbˌrəkədăbˈrə [key], magical formula used by the Gnostics (see Gnosticism) to invoke the aid of benevolent spirits to ward off disease and affliction. It is supposed to be derived f...

Gordon, Charles George

(Encyclopedia)Gordon, Charles George, 1833–85, British soldier and administrator. He served in the Crimean War, went to China in the expedition of 1860, taking part in the capture of Beijing, and in 1863 took ove...

Burgoyne, John

(Encyclopedia)Burgoyne, John bərgoinˈ [key], 1722–92, British general and playwright. In the Seven Years War, his victory over the Spanish in storming (1762) Valencia de Alcántara in Portugal made him the toas...

LeHand, Missy

(Encyclopedia)LeHand, Missy (Marguerite Alice LeHand), 1896–1944, personal secretary to Franklin Roosevelt, b. Potsdam, N.Y. She worked for Roosevelt's unsuccessful vice presidential campaign (1920) before she be...

Brest, city, France

(Encyclopedia)Brest brĕst [key], city, Finistère dept., NW France, on an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean. It ...

Hoy

(Encyclopedia)Hoy, island, 13 mi (21 km) long and 6 mi (9.7 km) wide, off N Scotland, second largest of the Orkney Islands. It is located at the southwestern side of the Scapa Flow anchorage. Ward Hill (1,565 ft/47...

Beame, Abraham David

(Encyclopedia)Beame, Abraham David, 1906–2001, American politician, mayor of New York City (1974–77), b. London. Beame, who grew up on New York's Lower East Side, was city budget director (1952–61). A Democra...

Lister, Joseph Lister, 1st Baron

(Encyclopedia)Lister, Joseph Lister, 1st Baron, 1827–1912, English surgeon, educated at University College, London. He brought to surgery the principle of antisepsis, an outgrowth of Pasteur's theory that bacteri...

Nassau, city, Bahamas

(Encyclopedia)Nassau năˈsô [key], city (1990 pop. 172,196), capital of the Bahamas. A port on New Providence island, it has a large and beautiful harbor and is the commercial and social center of the islands. It...

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