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Yogyakarta

(Encyclopedia)Yogyakarta jōkˌ– [key], city (1990 pop. 412,059), S Java, Indonesia, at the foot of volcanic Mt. Merapi, capital of the special region of Yogyakarta (1990 pop. 2,912,611), a former sultanate. It i...

Lead B

(Encyclopedia)Lead Belly, nickname of Huddie William Ledbetter, 1885–1949, American singer, b. Mooringsport, La. While wandering through Louisiana and Texas, he...

Grimm, Jakob

(Encyclopedia)Grimm, Jakob grĭm [key], 1786–1859, and which did much to encourage the romantic revival of folklore. Among their best-known stories are “Hansel and Gretel,” “Rapunzel,” “The Breman Town...

Smothers Brothers

(Encyclopedia) Smothers Brothers, American comedians, musicians, and TV hosts. Tom (b. February 2, 1937,as Thomas Smothers) and Dick (b. November 20, 1939, as ...

Ronstadt, Linda

(Encyclopedia)Ronstadt, Linda (Linda Maria Ronstadt), 1946–, American singer, b. Tucson, Ariz. She is known for the clarity and strength of her soprano voice and for the range of song genres in which she performe...

Wright, Richard

(Encyclopedia)Wright, Richard, 1908–60, American author. An African American born on a Mississippi plantation, Wright struggled through a difficult childhood and worked to educate himself. He moved to Chicago in ...

minstrel show

(Encyclopedia)minstrel show, stage entertainment by white performers made up as blacks. Thomas Dartmouth Rice, who gave (c.1828) the first solo performance in blackface and introduced the song-and-dance act Jim Cro...

Knussen, Oliver

(Encyclopedia)Knussen, Oliver (Stuart Oliver Knussen), 1952–2018, British composer, conductor, and teacher, b. Glasgow, Scotland. A musical prodigy, he began to compose at age 6 and studied with, among others, Gu...

Powell, Dawn

(Encyclopedia)Powell, Dawn, 1896–1965, American novelist, b. Mt. Gilead, Ohio. She came to New York City in 1918 and settled several years later in Greenwich Village, where she spent most of the rest of her life ...

Petit, Roland

(Encyclopedia)Petit, Roland rōläNˈ pətēˈ [key], 1924–2011, French dancer and choreographer, b. Villemomble. Petit joined the Paris Opéra company at 15 and in 1948 founded Les Ballets de Paris de Roland Pe...