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Prato

(Encyclopedia)Prato ēn tōskäˈnä [key], city (1991 pop. 165,707), Tuscany, central Italy. It is a major textile-making center, known for its wool industry since the 13th cent. Weaving machinery, leather goods, ...

Saalfeld

(Encyclopedia)Saalfeld zälˈfĕlt [key], city (1994 pop. 31,981), Thuringia, E central Germany, on the Thüringer Saale River. Manufactures include machinery, chocolate, and dyes. Iron is mined and slate is quarri...

Rothenburg ob der Tauber

(Encyclopedia)Rothenburg ob der Tauber rōˈtənbo͞orkh ôp dĕr touˈbər [key], town (1994 pop. 12,001), Bavaria, S Germany, on the Tauber River. One of the best-preserved and most picturesque medieval towns in ...

Sandomierz

(Encyclopedia)Sandomierz sändôˈmyĕsh [key], Rus. Sandomir, town, Świętokrzyskie prov., SE Poland, on the Vistula. Founded probably before Poland accepted Christianity, Sandomierz became the capital of a duchy...

Carter, Gary Edmund

(Encyclopedia)Carter, Gary Edmund, 1954–2012, American baseball player, b. Culver City, Calif. A superb catcher and clutch-hitting right-handed slugger, he played in the majors for 19 years. Drafted (1972) by the...

De Long, George Washington

(Encyclopedia)De Long, George Washington də lôngˈ [key], 1844–81, American arctic explorer, b. New York City, grad. Annapolis, 1865. In 1873 he was assigned to the Juniata, which was sent to the arctic to sear...

Gaye, Marvin

(Encyclopedia) Gaye, Marvin, 1939-1984, African-American singer and songwriter, b. Washington, D.C., as Marvin Pentz Gay Jr. Gaye’s father was a minister, and Gaye...

Monroe, Bill

(Encyclopedia)Monroe, Bill (William Smith Monroe), 1911–96, country singer, musician, and songwriter, often called the “father of bluegrass,” b. Rosine, Ky. A m...

Rainey, Gertrude "Ma"

(Encyclopedia)Rainey, Gertrude "Ma," 1886–1939, African-American blues singer and songwriter, b. Columbus, Ga., as Gertrude Melissa Nix Pridgett. Rainey's place and...

Gehry, Frank Owen

(Encyclopedia)Gehry, Frank Owen gĕrˈē [key], 1929–, American architect, b. Toronto, Ont., as Frank Owen Goldberg. He is widely considered one of the finest and most artful of contemporary architects. In 1947, ...