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Betti, Ugo

(Encyclopedia)Betti, Ugo o͞oˈgō bətˈtē [key], 1892–1953, Italian dramatist and poet. He was a judge by profession. His earliest published works were two volumes of poetry (1922 and 1932), but he is remember...

Francia, José Gaspar Rodríguez

(Encyclopedia)Francia, José Gaspar Rodríguez hōsāˈ gäspärˈ rōᵺrēˈgās fränˈsyä [key], 1766–1840, dictator of Paraguay and creator of its national independence, known as El Supremo. Incorruptible a...

Ohio Company

(Encyclopedia)Ohio Company, organization formed (1747) to extend settlements of Virginia westward. The members were mostly Virginia planters interested in land speculation and the fur trade. A royal charter (1749) ...

Lamont, Thomas William

(Encyclopedia)Lamont, Thomas William ləmŏntˈ [key], 1870–1948, American banker, b. Claverack, N.Y., grad. Harvard, 1892. Lamont entered (1903) the banking business in New York City and by 1911 was a partner of...

Philippians

(Encyclopedia)Philippians fəlĭpˈēənz [key], letter of the New Testament, written by St. Paul from captivity probably in Rome (c.a.d. 60) to the Christians of Philippi (in Macedonia), the first European city th...

Ellison, Ralph

(Encyclopedia)Ellison, Ralph (Ralph Waldo Ellison), 1914–94, African-American author, b. Oklahoma City, studied Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee Univ.). Originally a trumpet player and aspiring composer, he moved...

Odets, Clifford

(Encyclopedia)Odets, Clifford ōdĕtsˈ [key], 1906–63, American dramatist, b. Philadelphia. After graduating from high school he became an actor and in 1931 joined the Group Theatre. Turning his attention from a...

Bukowski, Charles

(Encyclopedia)Bukowski, Charles, 1920–94, American underground poet and fiction writer, b. Andernach, Germany. His family immigrated to the United States in 1922, settling in Los Angeles. A hard-drinking unskille...

aesthetics

(Encyclopedia)aesthetics ĕsthĕtˈĭks [key], the branch of philosophy that is concerned with the nature of art and the criteria of artistic judgment. The classical conception of art as the imitation of nature was...

Tarnovsky, Andrei

(Encyclopedia)Tarnovsky, Andrei, 1932–86, Soviet film director, grad. State Institute of Cinematography (1960), where he made several notable short films. The son of poet Arseni Tarkovsky, he is perhaps the fines...