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Weber, Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von

(Encyclopedia)Weber, Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von frēˈdrĭkh ĕrnst fən vāˈbər [key], 1786–1826, German composer and pianist; pupil of Michael Haydn and Abbé Vogler. He made his debut as a pianist at 13 ...

Pilobolus Dance Theater

(Encyclopedia)Pilobolus Dance Theater pīläbˈələs [key], innovative modern dance company formed (1971) by Moses Pendleton, Jonathan Wolken, Lee Harris, and Robby Barnett from a dance class given by Alison Chase...

Deuteronomy

(Encyclopedia)Deuteronomy do͞otərŏnˈəmē [key], book of the Bible, literally meaning “second law,” last of the five books (the Pentateuch or Torah) ascribed by tradition to Moses. Deuteronomy purports to b...

Great Rift Valley

(Encyclopedia)Great Rift Valley, geological fault system of SW Asia and E Africa. It extends c.3,000 mi (4,830 km) from N Syria to central Mozambique. The northernmost extension runs S through Syria and Lebanon, th...

MacBride, Seán

(Encyclopedia)MacBride, Seán, 1904–1988, Irish statesman, b. Paris. The son of Irish patriot-actress Maude Gonne and revolutionary Major John MacBride, he moved to Ireland after his father was executed as a lead...

Salt Lake City

(Encyclopedia)Salt Lake City, city (1990 pop. 159,936), alt. c.4,330 ft (1,320 m), state capital and seat of Salt Lake co., N central Utah, on the Jordan River and near the Great Salt Lake, at the foot of the Wasat...

Arab-Israeli Wars

(Encyclopedia)Arab-Israeli Wars, conflicts in 1948–49, 1956, 1967, 1973–74, and 1982 between Israel and the Arab states. Tensions between Israel and the Arabs have been complicated and heightened by the politic...

Duncan Smith, Iain

(Encyclopedia)Duncan Smith, Iain, 1954–, British political leader, b. Edinburgh. Educated at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, he served in the Scots Guards from 1975 to 1981, leaving the army for a series o...

Coventry, city, England

(Encyclopedia)Coventry kŏvˈəntrē, kŭvˈ– [key], city and metropolitan borough (2021 est. met...

Cluj-Napoca

(Encyclopedia)Cluj-Napoca klo͞ozh-näpō [key], Hung. Kolozsvár, Ger. Klausenburg, city, W central Ro...