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Gershwin, George

(Encyclopedia)Gershwin, George gŭrshˈwĭn [key], 1898–1937, American composer, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., as Jacob Gershwin. Gershwin wrote some of the most original and popular musical works produced in the United Sta...

political science

(Encyclopedia)political science, the study of government and political processes, institutions, and behavior. Government and politics have been studied and commented on since the time of the ancient Greeks. However...

Rothschild

(Encyclopedia)Rothschild rŏthˈchīld, Ger. rōtˈshĭlt [key], prominent family of European bankers. The first important member was Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1743–1812), son of a money changer in the Jewish ghe...

Parti Québécois

(Encyclopedia)Parti Québécois pärtē kēbĕkwäˈ [key] (PQ), provincial political party committed to the independence of Quebec. Founded in 1968, it soon became a force in provincial elections. In 1976, led by ...

Soros, George

(Encyclopedia)Soros, George sôrˈōs [key], 1930–, American stock trader and philanthropist, b. Budapest, Hungary, as George Schwartz. He studied under Sir Karl Popper at the London School of Economics (grad. 19...

Stockhausen, Karlheinz

(Encyclopedia)Stockhausen, Karlheinz kärlˈhīnts shtôkˈhouzən [key], 1928–2007, German composer, music theorist, and teacher; his first name also appears as Karl Heinz. He studied composition with Frank Mart...

Great Depression

(Encyclopedia)Great Depression, in U.S. history, the severe economic crisis generally considered to have been precipitated by the U.S. stock-market crash of 1929. Although it shared the basic characteristics of oth...

Gutenberg, Johann

(Encyclopedia)Gutenberg, Johann go͞oˈtənbərg, Ger. yōˈhän go͞oˈtənbĕrk [key], c.1397–1468, German inventor and printer, long credited with the invention of a method of printing from movable type, inclu...

dye

(Encyclopedia)dye, any substance, natural or synthetic, used to color various materials, especially textiles, leather, and food. Natural dyes are so called because they are obtained from plants (e.g., alizarin, cat...

concordat

(Encyclopedia)concordat kənkôrˈdăt [key], formal agreement, specifically between the pope, in his spiritual capacity, and the temporal authority of a state. Its juridical status is now generally accepted as bei...