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Lewis, Sinclair

(Encyclopedia)Lewis, Sinclair, 1885–1951, American novelist, b. Sauk Centre, Minn., grad. Yale Univ., 1908. Probably the greatest satirist of his era, Lewis wrote novels that present a devastating picture of midd...

art nouveau

(Encyclopedia)art nouveau ärˌ no͞ovōˈ [key], decorative-art movement centered in Western Europe. It began in the 1880s as a reaction against the historical emphasis of mid-19th-century art, but did not survive...

Anti-Masonic party

(Encyclopedia)Anti-Masonic party, American political organization that rose after the disappearance in W New York state in 1826 of William Morgan. A former Mason, Morgan had written a book purporting to reveal Maso...

Dutch language

(Encyclopedia)Dutch language, member of the West Germanic group of the Germanic subfamily of the Indo-European family of languages (see Germanic languages). Also called Netherlandish, it is spoken by about 15 milli...

cognitive psychology

(Encyclopedia)cognitive psychology, school of psychology that examines internal mental processes such as problem solving, memory, and language. It had its foundations in the Gestalt psychology of Max Wertheimer, Wo...

secession, in art

(Encyclopedia)secession, in art, any of several associations of progressive artists, especially those in Munich, Berlin, and Vienna, who withdrew from the established academic societies or exhibitions. The artists ...

Smith, Dame Maggie

(Encyclopedia)Smith, Dame Maggie (Dame Margaret Natalie Cross), 1934–, English actress. Smith first appeared on stage in Twelfth Night (1952). With her precise, sometimes rapid-fire, articulation and her meticulo...

Barnburners

(Encyclopedia)Barnburners, radical element of the Democratic party in New York state from 1842 to 1848, opposed to the conservative Hunkers. The name derives from the fabled Dutchman who burned his barn to rid it o...

Siebold

(Encyclopedia)Siebold tāˈōdōr ĕrnst [key], 1804–85, also a physician, was one of the foremost biologists of his time. He specialized in the comparative anatomy of invertebrates and wrote the first volume (18...

physical education and training

(Encyclopedia)physical education and training, organized instruction in motor activities that contribute to the physical growth, health, and body image of the individual. The historical roots of physical education ...