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Burns, George

(Encyclopedia)Burns, George, 1896–1996, b. New York City as Nathan Birnbaum, and his wife Gracie Allen, 1906–64, b. San Francisco, American comedy team (1923–58). In vaudeville in the 1920s, on radio (1932–...

Tibbett, Lawrence

(Encyclopedia)Tibbett, Lawrence tĭbˈĭt [key], 1896–1960, American baritone, b. Bakersfield, Calif. He made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera House in 1923. After a successful appearance as Ford in Verdi's Fa...

Saint-Cloud

(Encyclopedia)Saint-Cloud săN-klo͞oˈ [key], town (1990 est. pop. 28,673), Hauts-de-Seine dept., N central France, a suburb W of Paris on the Seine River. It is a residential town and resort, with a famous racetr...

European Southern Observatory

(Encyclopedia)European Southern Observatory (ESO), an intergovernmental organization for astronomical research with headquarters in Garching, near Munich, Germany. The ESO began in 1962 as a consortium among Belgiu...

Damrosch, Walter Johannes

(Encyclopedia)Damrosch, Walter Johannes, 1862–1950, German-American conductor and composer; son of Leopold Damrosch. At his father's death in 1885, he finished the season as conductor of the Metropolitan Opera, N...

Goldmark, Peter Carl

(Encyclopedia)Goldmark, Peter Carl, 1906–77, Hungarian-American engineer, b. Budapest. He studied at the Univ. of Vienna (B.S., 1929, Ph.D., 1931); worked for a radio company in England (1931–33). After emigrat...

Jean, Michaëlle

(Encyclopedia)Jean, Michaëlle, 1957–, Canadian journalist, filmmaker, and women's rights activist, b. Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Her family immigrated to Canada in 1968. After studying languages and literature at th...

microwave

(Encyclopedia)microwave, electromagnetic wave having a frequency range from 1,000 megahertz (MHz) to 300,000 MHz, corresponding to a wavelength range from 300 mm (about 12 in.) to 1 mm (about 0.04 in.). Like light ...

lightship

(Encyclopedia)lightship, moored vessel bearing lights and other signal devices to guide ships and warn of hazards to navigation. Lightships are generally stationed at points where a lighthouse cannot be erected; th...

Welwyn Garden City

(Encyclopedia)Welwyn Garden City wĕlˈĭn [key], town (1991 pop. 40,665), Hertfordshire, E central England. It is a garden city, founded by Ebenezer Howard in 1920, as well as one of the new towns. Its industries ...