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Smith, Dave

(Encyclopedia)Smith, Dave, 1942–, American poet, b. Portsmouth, Va. His early poetry established him as a sensitive observer of human behavior. His verse is often rooted in his native South and has been praised f...

Pew Charitable Trusts

(Encyclopedia)Pew Charitable Trusts, philanthropic foundation established (1948) by the children of Sun Oil Company founder Joseph N. Pew (1886–1963) of Philadelphia to provide funds for “general religious, cha...

Ragnarok

(Encyclopedia)Ragnarok rägˈnərŏkˌ [key], in Norse mythology, the doom of the gods. According to prophecy the end of the world would follow a severe ice age, in which human civilization would be destroyed. Then...

Reed, Walter

(Encyclopedia)Reed, Walter, 1851–1902, American army surgeon, b. Gloucester co., Va. In 1900 he was sent to Havana as head of an army commission to investigate an outbreak of yellow fever among American soldiers....

Avempace

(Encyclopedia)Avempace āˈvəmpās, äˌvĕmpäˈthā [key], Arabic Ibn Bajja, d. 1138, Spanish-Arab philosopher. Little is known of his life, but he was born in Zaragoza and died in Fès, Morocco. Developing the ...

Achilles' tendon

(Encyclopedia)Achilles' tendon (tendo calcaneus) tĕnˈdō kălkāˈnēəs [key], sinew prominent at the back of the ankle, connecting the tendons of the calf muscles to the heelbone. When the musculature contracts...

Starmer, Sir Keir Rodney

(Encyclopedia)Starmer, Sir Keir Rodney, 1962–, British political leader. A member of the Labour party, he was a human-rights lawyer before becoming director of public prosecutions and head of the crown prosecutio...

Bronk, Detlev Wulf

(Encyclopedia)Bronk, Detlev Wulf dĕtˈləf, brŏngk [key], 1897–1975, American biologist and administrator, b. New York City, grad. Swarthmore College (B.A., 1920), Ph.D. Univ. of Michigan, 1926. He was professo...

Brook, Alexander

(Encyclopedia)Brook, Alexander, 1898–1980, American painter, b. Brooklyn, N.Y. Brook's paintings, which are consistently realistic, include portraits, still-life subjects, landscapes, and figures. His color is su...

Brown, Michael Stuart

(Encyclopedia)Brown, Michael Stuart, 1941–, American molecular geneticist, b. New York City, M.D. Univ. of Pennsylvania, 1966. He worked (1968–71) as a researcher at the National Institutes of Health before goi...