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Beckford, William

(Encyclopedia)Beckford, William, 1760–1844, English author. A wealthy dilettante, Beckford had a great desire to ascend to the nobility. Unfortunately his erratic and strange behavior often worked against his amb...

thirst

(Encyclopedia)thirst, sensation indicating the body's need for water. Dry or salty food and dry, dusty air may induce such a sensation by depleting moisture in the mucous membranes of the mouth and throat. Relief t...

Sorokin, Vladimir Georgevich

(Encyclopedia)Sorokin, Vladimir Georgevich, 1955–, Russian writer. Trained as an engineer, he turned to Moscow's underground writing world in the 1980s. His iconoclastic work was banned by the Soviets; his first ...

Scott, Paul

(Encyclopedia)Scott, Paul (Paul Mark Scott), 1930–78, British author, b. London. He joined the British army in 1940 and served in India, Burma, and Malaya from 1943 to 1946. His observations of the British there ...

shamrock

(Encyclopedia)shamrock, a plant with leaves composed of three leaflets. According to legend it was used by St. Patrick in explaining the doctrine of the Trinity; it is now used as the emblem of Ireland. An artifici...

Shastri, Shri Lal Bahadur

(Encyclopedia)Shastri, Shri Lal Bahadur shrē läl bähäˈdo͝or shäsˈtrē [key], 1904–66, Indian political leader. He joined Mohandas Gandhi's noncooperation movement in 1921 and studied at the nationalist Ka...

Runeberg, Johan Ludvig

(Encyclopedia)Runeberg, Johan Ludvig yo͞oˈhän lŭdˈvĭg rüˈnəbĕryə [key], 1804–77, Finnish national poet. In 1837 he became a teacher of Latin and Greek at Porvoo near Helsinki. Runeberg's simple and rea...

Rush, William

(Encyclopedia)Rush, William, 1756–1833, American sculptor, one of the earliest in the country, b. Philadelphia. His wood carvings, clay models, and figureheads were famous in their day. Of his other works, carved...

Rye House Plot

(Encyclopedia)Rye House Plot, 1683, conspiracy to assassinate Charles II of England and his brother James, duke of York (later James II), as they passed by Rumbold's Rye House in Hertfordshire on the road from Newm...

Rowson, Susanna Haswell

(Encyclopedia)Rowson, Susanna Haswell rouˈsən [key], 1762–1824, American author and actress, b. England. She was brought to America as a young child, but after the Revolution, the family returned to England. He...