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détente

(Encyclopedia)détente, relaxation of tensions between nations, applied particularly to a period of improved relations between the United States and Soviet Union in the 1960s and 70s that resulted as the hostilitie...

decathlon

(Encyclopedia)decathlon dĭkăthˈlŏn [key], in modern Olympic games, a contest for men held over two days and composed of 10 track-and-field events. It consists of the long jump; the high jump; the discus throw; ...

Guare, John

(Encyclopedia)Guare, John gwâr [key], 1938–, American playwright, b. New York City, B.A. Georgetown, 1960, M.F.A. Yale, 1963. Guare's freewheeling, satirical plays are the antithesis of “kitchen sink” natura...

American Civil Liberties Union

(Encyclopedia)American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), nonpartisan organization devoted to the preservation and extension of the basic rights set forth in the U.S. Constitution. Founded (1920) by such prominent figur...

Just, Ward

(Encyclopedia)Just, Ward, 1935–2019, American writer, b. Michigan City, Ind. Just worked for several newspapers and magazines before being hired (1965) by the Washington Post, for which he covered Washington poli...

McCarthy, Eugene Joseph

(Encyclopedia)McCarthy, Eugene Joseph, 1916–2005, U.S. political leader, b. Watkins, Minn. He served (1942–46) as a technical assistant for military intelligence during World War II and then taught (1946–49) ...

aristocracy

(Encyclopedia)aristocracy ărˌĭstŏkˈrəsē [key] [Gr.,=rule by the best], in political science, government by a social elite. In the West the political concept of aristocracy derives from Plato's formulation in...

Bruce, Lenny

(Encyclopedia)Bruce, Lenny, 1925–66, American comedian, b. Long Island, N.Y., as Leonard Alfred Schneider. Possessed of a cynical, surreal, and intensely comic view of the world, Bruce brutally satirized such sen...

Bulwer-Lytton, Edward George Earle Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton

(Encyclopedia)Bulwer-Lytton, Edward George Earle Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton, 1803–73, English novelist. The son of Gen. William Bulwer and Elizabeth Lytton, he assumed the name Bulwer-Lytton in 1843 when he inherit...

Bell, Derrick Albert, Jr.

(Encyclopedia)Bell, Derrick Albert, Jr., 1930–2011, American lawyer, legal scholar, and educator, b. Pittsburgh, Pa., grad. Duquesne Univ. (A.B., 1952), Univ. of Pittsburgh Law School (LL.B., 1957). Known for his...