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Bennett, James Gordon

(Encyclopedia)Bennett, James Gordon, 1841–1918, American newspaper proprietor, b. New York City; son of James Gordon Bennett. Educated mostly in France, he took over (1867) from his father the management of the N...

prime minister

(Encyclopedia)prime minister or premier, chief member of the cabinet in a parliamentary system of government. The prime minister is head of the government, in contrast with the head of state, who may be a constitut...

Nobel Prizes (table)

(Encyclopedia)Nobel Prizes

Pinter, Harold

(Encyclopedia)Pinter, Harold, 1930–2008, English dramatist. Born in Hackney in London's East End, the son of an English tailor of Eastern European Jewish ancestry, he studied at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic...

Donne, John

(Encyclopedia)Donne, John dŭn, dŏn [key], 1572–1631, English poet and divine. He is considered the greatest of the metaphysical poets. All of Donne's verse—his love sonnets and his religious and philosophic...

privateering

(Encyclopedia)privateering, former usage of war permitting privately owned and operated war vessels (privateers) under commission of a belligerent government to capture enemy shipping. Private ownership distinguish...

Drayton, Michael

(Encyclopedia)Drayton, Michael, 1563–1631, English poet. The son of a prosperous tradesman, he received his educational training in the house of Sir Henry Goodere, where he served as page. There he made a lasting...

humanism

(Encyclopedia)humanism, philosophical and literary movement in which man and his capabilities are the central concern. The term was originally restricted to a point of view prevalent among thinkers in the Renaissan...

Hausa

(Encyclopedia)Hausa or Haussa both: houˈsə, –sä [key], black African ethnic group, numbering about 23 million, chiefly in N Nigeria and S Niger. The Hausa are almost exclusively Muslim and practice agriculture...

Gottfried von Strassburg

(Encyclopedia)Gottfried von Strassburg gôtˈfrēt fən shträsˈbo͝orkh [key], fl. 13th cent., German poet, also called Godfrey of Strasbourg. He is thought to have been official scribe of Strasbourg, but little ...