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Greely, Adolphus Washington

(Encyclopedia)Greely, Adolphus Washington, 1844–1935, American army officer and arctic explorer, b. Newburyport, Mass. Entering the Union army at 17, he emerged a brevet major of volunteers at the end of the Civi...

John, three epistles of the New Testament

(Encyclopedia)John, three letters of the New Testament. Traditionally, they are ascribed to John son of Zebedee, the disciple of Jesus. All three letters probably date to the end of the 1st cent. a.d., and may have...

Monk, Meredith Jane

(Encyclopedia)Monk, Meredith Jane, 1942–, American dancer, choreographer, composer, singer, director, and filmmaker, b. Lima, Peru, grad. Sarah Lawrence College, 1964. A major figure in the avant-garde, she began...

novena

(Encyclopedia)novena nōvēˈnə [key] [Lat.,=a group of nine], in the Roman Catholic Church, primarily a series of public or private prayers extending over nine consecutive days, especially nine days preceding a f...

Merton

(Encyclopedia)Merton, outer borough (1991 pop. 161,800) of Greater London, SE England. The area is largely residential with some industry, including tanning and the manufacture of silk and calico prints, varnish an...

Wynette, Tammy

(Encyclopedia)Wynette, Tammy wīnĕtˈ [key], 1942–98, American singer and songwriter, often called “th...

Calderón de la Barca, Pedro

(Encyclopedia)Calderón de la Barca, Pedro pāˈᵺrō käldārōnˈ dā lä bärˈkä [key], 1600–1681, Spanish dramatist, last important figure of the Spanish Golden Age, b. Madrid. Educated at a Jesuit school ...

Bulwer-Lytton, Edward George Earle Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton

(Encyclopedia)Bulwer-Lytton, Edward George Earle Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton, 1803–73, English novelist. The son of Gen. William Bulwer and Elizabeth Lytton, he assumed the name Bulwer-Lytton in 1843 when he inherit...

Betterton, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Betterton, Thomas bĕtˈərtən [key], 1635?–1710, English actor and manager. He joined Sir William D'Avenant's company at Lincoln's Inn Fields theater in 1661 and became the leading actor of the Re...

Sturges, Preston

(Encyclopedia)Sturges, Preston stûrˈjĭs [key], 1898–1959, American film director, screenwriter, and producer, b. Chicago as Edmond Preston Biden. Educated in the United States and Europe, he turned to playwrit...