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Pynchon, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Pynchon, Thomas pĭnˈchən [key], 1937–, American novelist, b. Glen Cove, N.Y., grad. Cornell, 1958. Pynchon is noted for his amazingly fertile imagination, his wild sense of humor, and the teeming...

Frescobaldi, Girolamo

(Encyclopedia)Frescobaldi, Girolamo jērôˈlämō frāskōbälˈdē [key], 1583–1643, Italian organist and composer. He became organist at St. Peter's in Rome in 1608, where huge crowds came during most of his l...

Gordon, Ruth

(Encyclopedia)Gordon, Ruth, 1896–1985, American actress and playwright, b. Wollaston, Mass. From her debut as Nibs in Peter Pan (1915), Gordon's career encompassed broad stage and film experience. Among the plays...

Guernsey

(Encyclopedia)Guernsey gûrnˈzē [key], island, 25 sq mi (65 sq km), in the English Channel, second largest of the Channel Islands. Guernsey bailiwick (2005 est. pop. 65,000) includes Alderney, Sark, Herm, Brechou...

Nattier, Jean-Marc

(Encyclopedia)Nattier, Jean-Marc zhäN-märk nätyāˈ [key], 1685–1766, French painter; son of the painter Marc Nattier and the miniaturist Marie Courtois. His early works include historical and mythological pai...

MacKinnon, Roderick

(Encyclopedia)MacKinnon, Roderick, 1956–, American biochemist, b. Burlington, Mass., M.D. Tufts Univ., 1982. MacKinnon was on the faculty at Harvard Medical School from 1989–96 and has been a professor at the H...

Lomonosov

(Encyclopedia)Lomonosov oräˈnyənboum [key], city (1989 pop. 42,000), NW European Russia, on the Gulf of Finland. It is a rail terminus and summer resort and has foundries and brick factories. In Lomonosov are a ...

López de Ayala, Pedro

(Encyclopedia)López de Ayala, Pedro pāˈᵺrō lōˈpāth ᵺā äyäˈlä [key], 1332–1407, Spanish statesman, poet, and chronicler. As a royal official in Castile, he served Peter the Cruel, Henry II, John I,...

Zinkernagel, Rolf Martin

(Encyclopedia)Zinkernagel, Rolf Martin, 1944–, Swiss immunologist, grad. Univ. of Basel (M.D., 1968), Australian National Univ. (Ph.D., 1975). He has been a professor at the Univ. of Zürich since 1979. Zinkernag...

Adams, Maude

(Encyclopedia)Adams, Maude, 1872–1953, American actress, b. Salt Lake City, Utah. Her father's name was Kiskadden, but she used her mother's maiden name. She began acting at an early age and became leading lady t...