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Sackville-West, Vita

(Encyclopedia)Sackville-West, Vita (Victoria Mary Sackville-West), 1892–1962, English writer; wife of Sir Harold Nicolson and granddaughter of the 2d Baron Sackville. Both she and Nicolson were members of the Blo...

Randolph, Peyton

(Encyclopedia)Randolph, Peyton, c.1721–1775, American political leader, first president of the Continental Congress, b. Williamsburg, Va. After a general education at the College of William and Mary, he studied l...

purification

(Encyclopedia)purification, in religion, the ceremonial removal of what the religion deems unclean. The usual agents of purification are water (as in baptism), bodily alteration (as in circumcision), and fire. The ...

pseudonym

(Encyclopedia)pseudonym so͞oˈdənĭm [key] [Gr.,=false name], name assumed, particularly by writers, to conceal identity. A writer's pseudonym is also referred to as a nom de plume (pen name). Famous examples in ...

Balfour, Sir James

(Encyclopedia)Balfour, Sir James, d. 1583, Scottish judge and politician. Captured (1547) at St. Andrews after the murder of Cardinal Beaton, he served a sentence in the French galleys and on his release (1549) abj...

Robertson, William

(Encyclopedia)Robertson, William, 1721–93, Scottish churchman and historian. As moderator (1762–80) of the general assembly of the Church of Scotland, he led the moderate party and enforced the right of the sta...

Orley, Bernard van

(Encyclopedia)Orley, Bernard van bäˈrənt [key], c.1491–1542, Flemish painter. In 1515 he was settled in Brussels, where he became court painter to Margaret of Austria, regent of the Netherlands, and to her suc...

Walker, Albertina

(Encyclopedia)Walker, Albertina, 1929–2010, African-American gospel singer and composer, b. Chicago. A protégé of Mahalia Jackson, she sang with two gospel groups before founding (1951) the Caravans, which, wit...

Wambach, Abby

(Encyclopedia)Wambach, Abby (Mary Abigail Wambach) wämˈbäk [key], 1980–, American soccer player, b. Rochester, N.Y. A forward, she was the all-time leading scorer for the Univ. of Florida Gators (1998–2001)....

Ward, Mrs. Humphry

(Encyclopedia)Ward, Mrs. Humphry, 1851–1920, English novelist, whose maiden name was Mary Augusta Arnold; granddaughter of Thomas Arnold. She was born in Tasmania but was brought to England and grew up in Oxford;...