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Ripley, Robert LeRoy

(Encyclopedia)Ripley, Robert LeRoy, 1890–1949, American cartoonist, b. Santa Rosa, Calif., as Leroy Robert Ripley. The creator of the Believe It or Not! newspaper cartoon, Ripley began his career at 16 as a sport...

screen

(Encyclopedia)screen, in architecture, partition or enclosure not extending to the ceiling; usually a structure in stone, wood, or metal. It frequently serves to mark the boundaries of portions of churches and cath...

Eleanor of Castile

(Encyclopedia)Eleanor of Castile kăstēlˈ [key], d.1290, queen consort of Edward I of England and daughter of Ferdinand III of Castile. At her marriage (1254) she brought to Prince Edward the territories of Ponth...

Fairbanks, Douglas

(Encyclopedia)Fairbanks, Douglas, 1883–1939, American movie actor, b. Denver. From 1901 to 1914, Fairbanks appeared on stage in light comedies. In 1915 he began making movies, becoming the swashbuckling hero of h...

injection

(Encyclopedia)injection, introduction of a fluid into the body, usually by means of a needle and syringe. The material injected may be a test substance (as in determining allergic sensitivity or immunity to a disea...

Howe, Gordie

(Encyclopedia)Howe, Gordie (Gordon Howe), 1928–2016, Canadian hockey player. One of the great forwards in the game's history, “Mr. Hockey” was renowned for both his offensive and defensive play as well as for...

Harte, Bret

(Encyclopedia)Harte, Bret (Francis Brett Harte) härt [key], 1836–1902, American writer of short stories and humorous verse, b. Albany, N.Y. At 19 he went to California, where he tried his hand at teaching, clerk...

Ammanati, Bartolomeo

(Encyclopedia)Ammanati, Bartolomeo bärtōlōmĕˈō äm-mänäˈtē [key], 1511–92, Italian sculptor and architect. He studied under Bandinelli in Florence and assisted Jacopo Sansovino in his work on the Librar...

Gothic language

(Encyclopedia)Gothic language, dead language belonging to the now extinct East Germanic group of the Germanic subfamily of the Indo-European family of languages (see Germanic languages). Gothic has special value fo...

Epiphany

(Encyclopedia)Epiphany ĭpĭfˈənē [key] [Gr.,=showing], a prime Christian feast, celebrated Jan. 6, called also Twelfth Day or Little Christmas. Its eve is Twelfth Night. It commemorates three events—the bapti...