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Wassermann, August von

(Encyclopedia)Wassermann, August von wŏsˈərmən, Ger. ouˈgo͝ost fən väsˈərmän [key], 1866–1925, German physician and bacteriologist. In Berlin he was director of the department of experimental therapy a...

Bastian, Adolf

(Encyclopedia)Bastian, Adolf äˈdôlf bäsˈtyän [key], 1826–1905, German anthropologist. Often called the father of ethnography, he recorded his observations of peoples and cultures in Der Mensch in der Geschi...

Siemens, Sir William

(Encyclopedia)Siemens, Sir William, 1823–83, English electrical engineer, b. Germany; brother of Ernst Werner von Siemens. Originally his name was Carl Wilhelm Siemens. After visiting England to introduce an elec...

Fréjus

(Encyclopedia)Fréjus frāzhüsˈ [key], town, Var dept., SE France. With adjoining Fréjus-Plage, located ...

Maximin, d. 238, Roman emperor

(Encyclopedia)Maximin (Caius Julius Verus Maximinus) măkˈsĭmĭn [key], d. 238, Roman emperor (235–38). A rough Thracian soldier of great physical strength, he rose in the army, and when the soldiers revolted a...

Pascin, Jules

(Encyclopedia)Pascin, Jules zhül päskăNˈ [key], 1885–1930, American painter, b. Bulgaria. Born Julius Pincas, he moved to Paris in 1905. He acquired American citizenship in 1914. Essentially a draftsman, belo...

Thapsus

(Encyclopedia)Thapsus thăpˈsəs [key], ancient N African seaport, c.100 mi (161 km) SE of Carthage in what is now Tunisia. The last stronghold of Pompey's party, the town was besieged in 46 b.c. by Julius Caesar....

Pompeia

(Encyclopedia)Pompeia pŏmpēˈyə [key], fl. 61 b.c., Roman matron, wife of Julius Caesar, daughter of Quintus Pompeius Rufus and granddaughter of Sulla. She married Caesar in 67 b.c. and was divorced in 61 b.c., ...

Derby, Thomas Stanley, 1st earl of

(Encyclopedia)Derby, Thomas Stanley, 1st earl of därˈbē [key], 1435?–1504, English nobleman. During the Wars of the Roses, Stanley was ostensibly a supporter of the Lancastrian Henry VI, but he had Yorkist sym...

Houghton, Richard Monckton Milnes, 1st Baron

(Encyclopedia)Houghton, Richard Monckton Milnes, 1st Baron houˈtən, hôˈ– [key], 1809–85, English author. Throughout much of his life he was an active member of Parliament. He was among the first to recogniz...