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Akerlof, George Arthur

(Encyclopedia)Akerlof, George Arthur, 1940–, American economist, b. New Haven, Conn., B.A. Yale, 1962, Ph.D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1966. He has been a professor at the Univ. of California, Berkel...

Haneke, Michael

(Encyclopedia)Haneke, Michael häˈnəkə [key], 1942–, Austrian film director and screenwriter, b. Munich, Germany. In the 1970s and 80s, he wrote and directed for television and the theater. His first film, The...

Wingate, Orde Charles

(Encyclopedia)Wingate, Orde Charles ôrd [key], 1903–44, British general. He served with the Sudan defense force (1928–33) and on special duty in Palestine (1936–39). It was in Palestine that he first used gu...

Blackstone, Sir William

(Encyclopedia)Blackstone, Sir William, 1723–80, English jurist. At first unsuccessful in legal practice, he turned to scholarship and teaching. He became (1758) the first Vinerian professor of law at Oxford, wher...

ornament, in architecture

(Encyclopedia)ornament, in architecture, decorative detail enhancing structures. Structural ornament, an integral part of the framework, includes the shaping and placement of the buttress, cornice, molding, ceiling...

organic farming

(Encyclopedia)organic farming, the practice of growing plants—especially for fruits and vegetables, but for ornamentals as well—without the use of synthetic pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers, or of raisin...

Dwight, Harrison Gray Otis

(Encyclopedia)Dwight, Harrison Gray Otis, 1803–62, American Congregational missionary to the Armenians, b. Conway, Mass. He served the Armenian population of Constantinople for 30 years. His travels with Eli Smit...

Ho Chi Minh

(Encyclopedia)Ho Chi Minh hô chē mĭn [key], 1890–1969, Vietnamese nationalist leader, president of North Vietnam (1954–69), and one of the most influential political leaders of the 20th cent. His given name ...

Munch, Edvard

(Encyclopedia)Munch, Edvard ĕdˈvärt mo͝ongk [key], 1863–1944, Norwegian painter and graphic artist. He studied in Oslo and under Bonnat in Paris, traveled in Europe, and lived in Berlin from 1892 to 1908. He ...

Trollope, Anthony

(Encyclopedia)Trollope, Anthony trŏlˈəp [key], 1815–82, one of the great English novelists. After spending seven unhappy years in London as a clerk in the general post office, he transferred (1841) to Ireland ...

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