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Celsius, Anders

(Encyclopedia)Celsius, Anders änˈdərs sĕlˈsēŭs [key], 1701–44, Swedish astronomer. While professor of astronomy at the Univ. of Uppsala (1730–44), he traveled through Germany, France, and Italy, visiting...

Captains' Revolution

(Encyclopedia)Captains' Revolution, coup staged (Apr. 25, 1974) by military officers who opposed Portugal's policy toward its African territories. By early 1974 dissatisfaction with the debilitating, seemingly endl...

Cardano, Girolamo

(Encyclopedia)Cardano, Girolamo or Geronimo jērôˈlämō kärdäˈnō, jārôˈnēmō [key], 1501–76, Italian physician and mathematician. His works on arithmetic and algebra established his reputation. Barred ...

Whiteboys

(Encyclopedia)Whiteboys, members of small illegal, largely Roman Catholic, peasant bands in 18th-century Ireland. First organized (c.1759) in protest against the large-scale enclosure of common lands and other caus...

Widukind, Saxon leader

(Encyclopedia)Widukind wĭtˈə– [key], d. 807?, leader of the Saxons against the Frankish king Charlemagne (later emperor of the West). In 782, when Charlemagne organized Saxony as a Frankish province and ordere...

Watts-Dunton, Theodore

(Encyclopedia)Watts-Dunton, Theodore (Walter Theodore Watts-Dunton), 1832–1914, English poet, novelist, and critic. A member of the staff of the Examiner (1874–76), he became editor of the Athenaeum (1876–98)...

King, Stephen

(Encyclopedia)King, Stephen, 1947–, American writer, b. Portland, Maine. Influenced by the 19th-century Gothic tradition, especially the works of Poe, King's fiction reveals the macabre and horrific potential of ...

homicide

(Encyclopedia)homicide hŏmˈəsīd [key], in law, the taking of human life. Homicides that are neither justifiable nor excusable are considered crimes. A criminal homicide committed with malice is known as murder,...

fraud

(Encyclopedia)fraud, in law, willful misrepresentation intended to deprive another of some right. The offense, generally only a tort, may also constitute the crime of false pretenses. Frauds are either actual or co...

grand jury

(Encyclopedia)grand jury, in law, body of persons selected to inquire into crimes committed within a certain jurisdiction. It usually comprises a greater number than the trial, or petit (also, petty) jury, having s...