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Pavlov, Ivan Petrovich

(Encyclopedia)Pavlov, Ivan Petrovich ēvänˈ pētrôˈvĭch pävˈləf [key], 1849–1936, Russian physiologist and experimental psychologist. He was professor at the military medical academy and director of the p...

Fair, James Graham

(Encyclopedia)Fair, James Graham, 1831–94, American financier, b. near Belfast, Ireland. He emigrated to America as a child, grew up on an Illinois farm, and went west in 1851 in search of gold. In partnership wi...

Yankton, city, United States

(Encyclopedia)Yankton, city (1990 pop. 12,703), seat of Yankton co., extreme SE S.Dak., on the Missouri River; inc. 1869. A railroad and trade center in an agricultural region, it has grain elevators, creameries, a...

Tappan, Arthur

(Encyclopedia)Tappan, Arthur tăpˈən [key], 1786–1865, American abolitionist, b. Northampton, Mass. He made a fortune in the dry-goods business in New York City and with his brother and partner Lewis Tappan gav...

Taylor, Myron Charles

(Encyclopedia)Taylor, Myron Charles, 1874–1959, American industrialist and diplomat, b. Lyons, N.Y. He practiced law and then ran a group of textile mills in New England. In 1932 he succeeded J. P. Morgan, Jr., a...

carding

(Encyclopedia)carding, process by which fibers are opened, cleaned, and straightened in preparation for spinning. The fingers were first used, then a tool of wood or bone shaped like a hand, then two flat pieces of...

Jakobson, Roman

(Encyclopedia)Jakobson, Roman rəmänˈ yäkˈôbsən [key], 1896–1982, Russian-American linguist and literary critic, b. Moscow. He coined the term structural linguistics and stressed that the aim of historical ...

melodrama

(Encyclopedia)melodrama [Gr.,=song-drama], originally a spoken text with musical background, as in Greek drama. The form was popular in the 18th cent., when its composers included Georg Benda, J. J. Rousseau, and W...

Szell, George

(Encyclopedia)Szell, George sĕl [key], 1897–1970, American conductor and pianist, b. Budapest. He moved with his family to Vienna during his childhood and started his piano training at an early age studying at t...

totem

(Encyclopedia)totem tōˈtəm [key], an object, usually an animal or plant (or all animals or plants of that species), that is revered by members of a particular social group because of a mystical or ritual relatio...

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