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Young, Charles Augustus

(Encyclopedia)Young, Charles Augustus, 1834–1908, American astronomer, b. Hanover, N.H., grad. Dartmouth, 1853. He discovered the reversing layer of the solar atmosphere and proved the gaseous nature of the sun's...

Lope de Vega Carpio, Félix

(Encyclopedia)Lope de Vega Carpio, Félix fāˈlēks lōˈpā dā vāˈgä kärˈpyō [key], 1562–1635, Spanish dramatic poet, founder of the Spanish drama, b. Madrid. Lope, born a peasant, was orphaned at an ear...

Manych

(Encyclopedia)Manych mäˈnĭch [key], two rivers, SE European Russia. The Western Manych, c.200 mi (320 km) long, rises near Stavropol in the N Caucasus and flows NW through Lake Manych-Gudilo into the lower Don R...

Constantine XI, Byzantine emperor

(Encyclopedia)Constantine XI (Constantine Palaeologus), d. 1453, last Byzantine emperor (1449–53), brother and successor of John VIII. To secure Western aid against the Turkish assault on what remained of the emp...

Art Institute of Chicago

(Encyclopedia)Art Institute of Chicago, museum and art school, in Grant Park, facing Michigan Ave. It was incorporated in 1879; George Armour was the first president. Since 1893 the Institute has been housed in its...

López Velarde, Ramón

(Encyclopedia)López Velarde, Ramón rämōnˈ lōˈpās vālärˈᵺā [key], 1888–1921, Mexican poet. One of the major poets of Mexico, he deeply influenced the work of later poets, notably Xavier Villaurrutia....

Holberg, Ludvig, Baron

(Encyclopedia)Holberg, Ludvig, Baron lo͞oᵺˈvē bärōnˈ hōlˈbĕr [key], 1684–1754, Danish dramatist, essayist, poet, and historian, apostle of the Enlightenment in Scandinavia. Born in Norway, he studied t...

Coppola, Sophia Carmina

(Encyclopedia) Coppola, Sophia Carmina, , 1971- , American director, screenwriter, and actress, b. New York City. The youngest child of director Francis Ford Coppola ...

Sellars, Peter

(Encyclopedia)Sellars, Peter, 1957–, American director, b. Pittsburgh, grad. Harvard (1981). A highly innovative director, he began his career with the Boston Shakespeare Co. (1983–84) and Washington's American...

ronin

(Encyclopedia)ronin rōˈnĭn [key], in Japanese history, masterless samurai. Ronin were retainers who were deprived of their place in the usual loyalty patterns of Japanese feudalism. The daimyo they had served mi...