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White Sulphur Springs

(Encyclopedia)White Sulphur Springs, city (1990 pop. 2,779), Greenbrier co., SE W.Va., in the Allegheny Mts. near the Virginia border; settled c.1750. A mineral springs health resort since early 1800s, it is the si...

Wister, Owen

(Encyclopedia)Wister, Owen wĭsˈtər [key], 1860–1938, American author, b. Philadelphia, grad. Harvard (B.A., 1882; LL.B., 1888). Trips to the West for his health gave him material for his short stories and for ...

Plesiosaurus

(Encyclopedia)Plesiosaurus plēˌsēəsôrˈəs [key], genus of extinct predatory marine reptiles that arose in the Triassic period of geologic time and continued into the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Plesiosau...

Lofting, Hugh

(Encyclopedia)Lofting, Hugh, 1886–1947, American writer of juvenile stories, b. Maidenhead, England. He settled in the United States in 1912. His famous “Dr. Dolittle” stories, which concern an extraordinary ...

Longus

(Encyclopedia)Longus lôngˈgəs [key], fl. 3d cent. a.d., Greek writer. The pastoral romance Daphnis and Chloë is attributed to him. Idyllic in nature, the poem tells the charming story of the love of a goatherd ...

John Henry

(Encyclopedia)John Henry, legendary African American famous for his strength, celebrated in ballads and tales. In the most popular version of the story, John Henry tries to outwork a steam drill with only his hamme...

Guy of Warwick

(Encyclopedia)Guy of Warwick wŏrˈĭk [key], English legendary hero, popularized by an anonymous 14th-century rhymed romance. Guy won the earl of Warwick's daughter and saved England from the Danes by killing the ...

Gander

(Encyclopedia)Gander, town, NE Newfoundland, N.L., Canada. Gander's airport, an important base in World War II, is a hub for international flights; it also attracts m...

Apollonius Rhodius

(Encyclopedia)Apollonius Rhodius rōˈdēəs [key], fl. 3d cent. b.c., epic poet of Alexandria and Rhodes. He became librarian at Alexandria. His extant work, the Argonautica, is a Homeric imitation in four books o...

Phillips Exeter Academy

(Encyclopedia)Phillips Exeter Academy ĕkˈsətər [key], at Exeter, N.H.; coeducational; chartered 1781, opened 1783 by John Phillips. It has been an influential preparatory school and has a notable school library...