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Vinson, Frederick Moore

(Encyclopedia)Vinson, Frederick Moore, 1890–1953, 13th chief justice of the United States (1946–53), b. Louisa, Ky. He received his law degree from Centre College in Danville, Kentucky (1911). He served (1923�...

Sumerian and Babylonian art

(Encyclopedia)Sumerian and Babylonian art, works of art and architecture created by the Sumerian and Babylonian peoples of ancient Mesopotamia, civilizations which had an artistic tradition of remarkable antiquity,...

Dana, Charles Anderson

(Encyclopedia)Dana, Charles Anderson dāˈnə [key], 1819–97, American newspaper editor, b. Hinsdale, N.H. He was a member of the Brook Farm community for five years. In 1847 he began 15 years on the New York Tri...

alabaster

(Encyclopedia)alabaster, fine-grained, massive, translucent variety of gypsum, a hydrous calcium sulfate. It is pure white or streaked with reddish brown. Alabaster, like all other forms of gypsum, forms by the eva...

fertility rites

(Encyclopedia)fertility rites, magico-religious ceremonies to insure an abundance of food and the birth of children. The rites, expressed through dances, prayers, incantations, and sacred dramas, seek to control th...

Hubballi-Dharwad

(Encyclopedia)Hubballi-Dharwad, formerly Hubli-Dharwad ho͝oˈblē-därˈvär [key], city, Karnataka (forme...

anchor

(Encyclopedia)anchor, device cast overboard to secure a ship, boat, or other floating object by means of weight, friction, or hooks called flukes. In ancient times an anchor was often merely a large stone, a bag or...

go

(Encyclopedia)go or i-go, a board game popular in Japan that probably originated in China or India as long ago as the third millennium b.c. The board is marked by a grid of 19 horizontal and 19 vertical lines to fo...

Garrick, David

(Encyclopedia)Garrick, David, 1717–79, English actor, manager, and dramatist. He was indisputably the greatest English actor of the 18th cent., and his friendships with Diderot, Samuel Johnson, Oliver Goldsmith, ...

jaundice

(Encyclopedia)jaundice jônˈdĭs, jänˈ– [key], abnormal condition in which the body fluids and tissues, particularly the skin and eyes, take on a yellowish color as a result of an excess of bilirubin. During t...