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Schwarz, Berthold

(Encyclopedia)Schwarz, Berthold bĕrˈtôlt shvärts [key], fl. 14th cent., German Franciscan monk and alchemist. It was formerly widely believed, especially in Germany, that he invented gunpowder and was the first...

Coke, Sir Edward

(Encyclopedia)Coke, Sir Edward ko͝ok [key], 1552–1634, English jurist, one of the most eminent in the history of English law. He entered Parliament in 1589 and rose rapidly, becoming solicitor general and speake...

Edwards, Sir Robert Geoffrey

(Encyclopedia)Edwards, Sir Robert Geoffrey, 1925–2013, British physiologist, Ph.D. Edinburgh Univ., 1955. In 1963 he became a research fellow at Cambridge. He was associated with the university until his death, a...

Cotton, Sir Robert Bruce

(Encyclopedia)Cotton, Sir Robert Bruce, 1571–1631, English antiquarian. The Cottonian collection of books, manuscripts, coins, and antiquities became a part of the British Museum when it was founded in 1753. Cott...

Cunninghame Graham, Robert Bontine

(Encyclopedia)Cunninghame Graham, Robert Bontine kŭnˈĭngəm [key], 1852–1936, British politician and author. He lived as a cattle rancher in Argentina and traveled widely in Latin America, Morocco, and Spain. ...

Curl, Robert Floyd, Jr.

(Encyclopedia)Curl, Robert Floyd, Jr., 1933–, American chemist, b. Alice, Tex., Ph.D. Univ. of California, Berkeley, 1957. Curl has been a professor at Rice Univ. in Houston, Tex., since 1958. In 1996 he was awar...

Engle, Robert Fry, 3d

(Encyclopedia)Engle, Robert Fry, 3d, 1942–, American economist, b. Syracuse, N.Y., Ph.D. Cornell, 1969. He has been on the faculty of the Massachusetts Intitute of Technology (1969–75), Univ. of California, San...

Hunter, Robert Mercer Taliaferro

(Encyclopedia)Hunter, Robert Mercer Taliaferro tŏlˈəvər [key], 1809–87, American statesman, b. Essex co., Va. He was a U.S. Representative for Virginia (1837–43, 1845–47), serving as speaker from 1839 to ...

Houdin, Jean Eugène Robert

(Encyclopedia)Houdin, Jean Eugène Robert or Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin zhäN özhĕnˈ rōbĕrˈ o͞odăNˈ [key], 1805–71, French conjurer and magician. Originally a clockmaker, he was celebrated for his optica...

Heinlein, Robert Anson MacDonald

(Encyclopedia)Heinlein, Robert Anson MacDonald hīˈlīn [key], 1907–88, American science-fiction writer, b. Butler, Mo. His best-known novel, Stranger in a Strange Land (1961), concerns a young man who is raised...