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Wolfe, Thomas Clayton

(Encyclopedia)Wolfe, Thomas Clayton, 1900–1938, American novelist, b. Asheville, N.C., grad. Univ. of North Carolina, 1920, M.A. Harvard, 1922. An important 20th-century American novelist, Wolfe wrote four mammot...

Bierce, Ambrose Gwinett

(Encyclopedia)Bierce, Ambrose Gwinett ămˈbrōz gwĭnĕtˈ bĭrs [key], 1842–1914?, American satirist, journalist, and short-story writer, b. Meigs co., Ohio. He fought with extreme bravery in the Civil War, and...

church music

(Encyclopedia)church music. 1 Music intended for performance as part of services of worship. With few exceptions, music is essential to the ritual of every religion; the singing of prayers and portions of Scripture...

Earnhardt, Dale

(Encyclopedia)Earnhardt, Dale (Ralph Dale Earnhardt, Sr.) ûrnˈhärt [key], 1951–2001, American auto racing driver widely regarded as stock car racing's greatest star, b. Kannapolis, N.C. The 1979 National Assoc...

Edgerton, Harold

(Encyclopedia)Edgerton, Harold, 1903–90, American inventor and educator, b. Fremont, Nebr. He was educated at the Univ. of Nebraska and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (D.Sc., 1931), and taught at the l...

Fairbanks, Douglas

(Encyclopedia)Fairbanks, Douglas, 1883–1939, American movie actor, b. Denver. From 1901 to 1914, Fairbanks appeared on stage in light comedies. In 1915 he began making movies, becoming the swashbuckling hero of h...

Hallam, Lewis

(Encyclopedia)Hallam, Lewis hălˈəm [key], c.1714–1756, Anglo-American actor and manager of the first professional theatrical company in the United States. He arrived from England with his company in 1752 and o...

Hall, Donald

(Encyclopedia)Hall, Donald (Donald Andrew Hall, Jr.), 1928–2018, American poet, b. New Haven, Conn., grad. Harvard (B.A., 1951), Oxford (1953). He published more than 50 books, ranging from poetry, short stories,...

Gardner, Isabella Stewart

(Encyclopedia)Gardner, Isabella Stewart, 1840–1924, American art collector, b. New York City. She lived in Boston following her marriage to the financier Jack Gardner. After the Civil War her home became known fo...

Floyd, Carlisle

(Encyclopedia)Floyd, Carlisle (Carlisle Sessions Floyd, Jr.), 1926–, American composer, b. Latta, S.C., grad. Syracuse Univ. (B.A., 1946; M.A., 1949). His reputation rests on his operas, for which he writes both ...