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Wolff, Caspar Friedrich

(Encyclopedia)Wolff, Caspar Friedrich käsˈpär frēˈdrĭkh vôlf [key], 1733–94, German biologist, a founder of observational embryology. In his Theoria generationis (1759) he reintroduced the theory of epigen...

Lowell, John, American jurist

(Encyclopedia)Lowell, John, 1743–1802, American jurist, b. Newburyport, Mass. He became (1762) a lawyer and later served in the provincial assembly (1776, 1778), in the state constitutional convention (1779–80)...

Lagrange, Joseph Louis, Comte

(Encyclopedia)Lagrange, Joseph Louis, Comte zhôzĕfˈ lwē kôNt lägräNzhˈ [key], 1736–1813, French mathematician and astronomer, b. Turin, of French and Italian descent. Before the age of 20 he was professor...

American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters

(Encyclopedia)American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, honorary academy of notable American artists, writers, and composers. The National Institute of Arts and Letters, founded in 1898, served as the par...

Heyrovsky, Jaroslav

(Encyclopedia)Heyrovsky, Jaroslav, 1890–1967, Czech chemist, Ph.D. Charles Univ. of Prague, 1918; D.Sc. University College, London, 1921. Heyrovsky was director of the Polarography Institute at the Czechoslovak A...

Medici, Ferdinand II de'

(Encyclopedia)Medici, Ferdinand II de', 1610–70, grand duke of Tuscany (1620–70); son and successor of Cosimo II de' Medici. A pupil of Galileo, he founded (1657) the Accademia del Cimento, the first European a...

Marggraf, Andreas Sigismund

(Encyclopedia)Marggraf, Andreas Sigismund ändrāˈäs zēˈgĭsmo͝ont märkˈgräfˌ [key], 1709–82, German chemist, a pioneer in analytical chemistry. He proved that alumina, magnesia, and lime are distinct ea...

Tredyakovsky, Vasily Kirilovich

(Encyclopedia)Tredyakovsky, Vasily Kirilovich vəsēˈlyē kĭrēˈləvĭch trĕdyəkôfˈskē [key], 1703–69, Russian poet, translator, and scholar. Tredyakovsky rose from humble origins to membership in the Aca...

Yakutsk

(Encyclopedia)Yakutsk yəko͞otskˈ [key], city (1989 pop. 187,000), capital of the Sakha Republic, E Siberian Russia, a major port on the Lena River. It is also a highway center and has tanneries, sawmills, and br...

Alembert, Jean le Rond d'

(Encyclopedia)Alembert, Jean le Rond d' zhäN lərôNˈ däläNbĕrˈ [key], 1717–83, French mathematician and philosopher. The illegitimate son of the chevalier Destouches, he was named for the St. Jean le Rond ...