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Gregg, Josiah

(Encyclopedia)Gregg, Josiah, 1806–50, American trader and historian of the Santa Fe Trail, b. Overton co., Tenn. He moved with his family to Illinois (1809) and then to Missouri (1812). He gained wide knowledge f...

Goerdeler, Carl Friedrich

(Encyclopedia)Goerdeler, Carl Friedrich kärl frēˈdrĭkh gördˈələr [key], 1884–1945, German civil servant, leader of resistance to Hitler. Lord mayor of Leipzig (1930–37) and price commissioner (1931–32...

Goncharov, Ivan Aleksandrovich

(Encyclopedia)Goncharov, Ivan Aleksandrovich ēvänˈ əlyĭksänˈdrəvĭch gənchərôfˈ [key], 1812–91, Russian novelist. Goncharov was a government official from 1835 to 1867. His realistic and satirical nov...

Grant, Cary

(Encyclopedia)Grant, Cary, 1904–86, British movie actor, b. Bristol as Archibald Alexander Leach. He began on stage in 1923 and made his first film in 1932. An almost immediate hit, Grant was a leading star until...

John, Augustus Edwin

(Encyclopedia)John, Augustus Edwin, 1879–1961, British painter and etcher, b. Wales. John studied at the Slade School, London. A leading portrait painter, he had many important sitters, among them Queen Elizabeth...

Monumenta Germaniae historica

(Encyclopedia)Monumenta Germaniae historica mŏnyo͞omĕnˈtə jərmāˈnē-ē hĭstôrˈĭkə [key], comprehensive critical editions of the sources of medieval German history. The first society created to publish ...

metaphysical poets

(Encyclopedia)metaphysical poets, name given to a group of English lyric poets of the 17th cent. The term was first used by Samuel Johnson (1744). The hallmark of their poetry is the metaphysical conceit (a figure ...

Meyer, Conrad Ferdinand

(Encyclopedia)Meyer, Conrad Ferdinand kônˈrät fĕrˈdēnänt mīˈər [key], 1825–98, Swiss poet and novelist. He studied history and art and later turned to literature. He is best known for his historical nov...

Morley, Sylvanus Griswold

(Encyclopedia)Morley, Sylvanus Griswold, 1883–1948, American archaeologist, b. Chester, Pa., grad. Harvard, 1908. A specialist in Middle American archaeology and Mayan heiroglyphs, Morley did fieldwork (1909–14...

Murasaki Shikibu

(Encyclopedia)Murasaki Shikibu mo͞oˌräsäˈkē shēˌkēbo͞oˈ [key], c.978–1031?, Japanese novelist, court figure at the height of the Heian period (794–1185). Known also as Lady Murasaki, she is celebrate...