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Wolfensohn, James David

(Encyclopedia)Wolfensohn, James David, 1933–2020, Australian-American investment banker and financial executive, b. Sydney. Wolfensohn worked for banking institutions in Australia, London, and New York City, even...

Quintilian

(Encyclopedia)Quintilian (Marcus Fabius Quintilianus) kwĭntĭlˈyən [key], c.a.d. 35–c.a.d. 95, Roman rhetorician, b. Calagurris (now Calahorra), Spain. He taught rhetoric at Rome (Pliny the Younger and possibl...

Berlin Wall

(Encyclopedia)Berlin Wall, 1961–89, a barrier first erected in Aug., 1961, by the East German government along the border between East and West Berlin, and later along the entire border between East Germany and W...

Goldberg, Arthur

(Encyclopedia)Goldberg, Arthur, 1908–90, American labor lawyer and jurist, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1962–65), b. Chicago. He received his law degree from Northwestern Univ. in 1929. A corpor...

Abbott, George

(Encyclopedia)Abbott, George, 1887–1995, American theatrical producer, director, and playwright, b. Forestville, N.Y. He began (1913) in the theater as an actor and, during a career that spanned eight decades, wa...

poet laureate

(Encyclopedia)poet laureate lôˈrēĭt [key], title conferred in Britain by the monarch on a poet whose duty it is to write commemorative odes and verse. It is an outgrowth of the medieval English custom of having...

Alliance for Progress

(Encyclopedia)Alliance for Progress, Span. Alianza para el Progreso, U.S. assistance program for Latin America begun in 1961 during the presidency of John F. Kennedy. It was created principally to counter the appea...

Columbia, U.S. space shuttle

(Encyclopedia)Columbia, U.S. space shuttle. On its 28th flight, on Feb. 1, 2003, after completing a 16-day scientific mission, the spacecraft disintegrated during reentry, killing its seven-person crew. About 16 mi...

Fisher, M. F. K.

(Encyclopedia)Fisher, M. F. K. (Mary Frances Kennedy Fisher), 1908–92, American culinary writer, b. Albion, Mich. Raised in California, Fisher lived in France for three years, where she was inspired by Brillat-Sa...

Elgar, Sir Edward William

(Encyclopedia)Elgar, Sir Edward William ĕlˈgär [key], 1857–1934, English composer. He received his training from his father, who was an organist, music seller, and amateur violinist. In 1885 he succeeded his f...