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Pushkin, Aleksandr Sergeyevich

(Encyclopedia)Pushkin, Aleksandr Sergeyevich po͝oshˈkĭn, Rus. əlyĭksänˈdər syĭrgāˈyəvĭch po͞oshˈkĭn [key], 1799–1837, Russian poet and prose writer, among the foremost figures in Russian literatur...

sailing

(Encyclopedia)sailing, as a sport, the art of navigating a sailboat for recreational or competitive purposes. Although sailing as a means of transportation predates history, sport sailing—or yachting—seems to...

Dylan, Bob

(Encyclopedia)Dylan, Bob dĭlˈən [key], 1941–, American singer and composer, b. Duluth, Minn., as Robert Zimmerman. Dylan learned guitar at the age of 10 and autoharp and harmonica at 15. After a rebellious you...

Hagia Sophia

(Encyclopedia)Hagia Sophia häˈjə sōfēˈə, hāˈjēə, [key] [Gr.,=Holy Wisdom] or Santa Sophia, Turkish Ayasofya, originally a Christian church at Constantinople (now İstanbul, Turkey) and then a mosque unde...

Arabian music

(Encyclopedia)Arabian music, classical musical tradition of the Islamic peoples of Arabia, the Fertile Crescent, and North Africa. Little is known of Arabian music before the Hegira (a.d. 622), but afterward unde...

Mongolia, region, Asia

(Encyclopedia)Mongolia mŏn-gōˈlēə, mŏng– [key], Asian region (c.906,000 sq mi/2,346,540 sq km), bordered roughly by Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China, on the west; the Manchurian provinces of China on...

cactus

(Encyclopedia)cactus, any plant of the family Cactaceae, a large group of succulents found almost entirely in the New World. A cactus plant is conspicuous for its fleshy green stem, which performs the functions of ...

Stuart, British royal family

(Encyclopedia)Stuart or Stewart, royal family that ruled Scotland and England. The Stuart lineage began in a family of hereditary stewards of Scotland, the earliest of whom was Walter (d. 1177), grandson of a Norma...

Tintoretto

(Encyclopedia)Tintoretto tēntōrĕtˈtō [key], 1518–94, Venetian painter, whose real name was Jacopo Robusti. Tintoretto is considered one of the greatest painters in the Venetian tradition. He was called Il Ti...

Union Pacific Railroad

(Encyclopedia)Union Pacific Railroad, transportation company chartered (1862) by Congress to build part of the nation's first transcontinental railroad line. Under terms of the Pacific Railroads Act, the Union Paci...