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incest

(Encyclopedia)incest, sexual relations between persons to whom marriage is prohibited by custom or law because of their close kinship. Ideas of kinship, however, vary widely from group to group, hence the definitio...

Harrison, Jim

(Encyclopedia)Harrison, Jim (James Thomas Harrison), 1937–2016, American novelist, poet, and essayist, b. Grayling, Mich., grad. Michigan State Univ. (B.A., 1960; M.A., 1965). He began his writing career as a poe...

Aurangzeb

(Encyclopedia)Aurangzeb –zĭbˌ [key], 1618–1707, Mughal emperor of India (1658–1707), son and successor of Shah Jahan. He served (1636–44, 1653–58) as viceroy of the Deccan but was constantly at odds wit...

Medill, Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Medill, Joseph mədĭlˈ [key], 1823–99, American journalist, b. near St. John, N.B., Canada. His family moved to a farm near Massillon, Ohio, in 1832. He was admitted to the bar in 1846, but in 184...

Maupassant, Guy de

(Encyclopedia)Maupassant, Guy de gē də mōpäsäNˈ [key], 1850–93, French novelist and short-story writer, of an ancient Norman family. He worked in a government office at Paris and became known c.1880 as the ...

Lehman, Herbert Henry

(Encyclopedia)Lehman, Herbert Henry lēˈmən [key], 1878–1963, American political leader, b. New York City. At first an executive of a textile firm, he became (1908) a partner in the family banking house of Lehm...

lacquer

(Encyclopedia)lacquer, solution of film-forming materials, natural or synthetic, usually applied as an ornamental or protective coating. Quick-drying synthetic lacquers are used to coat automobiles, furniture, text...

Bent's Fort

(Encyclopedia)Bent's Fort, trading post of the American West, on the Arkansas River in present-day SE Colorado, E of Rocky Ford and La Junta and several miles above the mouth of the Purgatoire. The trading company ...

Wyler, William

(Encyclopedia)Wyler, William, 1902–1981, American film director, producer, and writer, b. Mülhausen, Germany (now Mulhouse, France) as Willi Wilder. He came to the United States (1920) at the invitation of Carl ...