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Gwyn, Nell

(Encyclopedia)Gwyn or Gwynn, Nell (Eleanor Gwyn), 1650–87, English actress. Once an orange-seller at the Theatre Royal, she became a member of Killigrew's company, making her debut there in 1665. Her charm and vi...

Erté

(Encyclopedia)Erté ĕrtāˈ [key], 1892–1990, French designer and illustrator, b. St. Petersburg as Romain de Tirtoff. He moved to France and worked for a time sketching for Paul Poiret and designing opera and t...

Lycaonia

(Encyclopedia)Lycaonia lĭkˌāōˈnēə [key], ancient country of S Asia Minor (now in Turkey), between Galatia and Cilicia on the north and south and Phrygia and Cappadocia on the west and east. Passing successiv...

Loughborough

(Encyclopedia)Loughborough lŭfˈbərə [key], town (1991 pop. 44,895), Leicestershire, central England, on the Soar River. It is a market town with engineering works. Manufactures include hosiery, shoes, pharmaceu...

Carrickfergus

(Encyclopedia)Carrickfergus kărˌĭkfûrˈgəs [key], town and district, E Northern Ireland, on the shore of Belfast ...

Whitehaven

(Encyclopedia)Whitehaven hwītˈhāvən [key], town (1991 pop. 27,512), Cumbria, NW England, at the mouth of Solway Firth. Whitehaven is a seaport and industrial town. There are chemical works, iron foundries, and ...

Barnabas, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Barnabas, Saint bärˈnəbəs [key], Christian apostle. He was a Cypriot and a relative of St. Mark; his forename was Joseph. Several passages in the New Testament relate that Barnabas was a teacher a...

Stiles, Ezra

(Encyclopedia)Stiles, Ezra, 1727–95, American theologian and educator, b. North Haven, Conn., grad. Yale, 1746. He studied theology, was ordained in 1749, and tutored (1749–55) at Yale. Resigning from the minis...

Hill, James Jerome

(Encyclopedia)Hill, James Jerome, 1838–1916, American railroad builder, b. Ontario, Canada. He went to St. Paul, Minn., in 1856. He became a partner of Norman Kittson in a steamboat line and, with Kittson, Donald...

letters

(Encyclopedia)letters, in literature, written messages, ranging from those addressed to the public and those sent from lover to lover, to business letters and thank-you notes. The common quality they share is a liv...