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Swanson, Howard

(Encyclopedia)Swanson, Howard, 1909–78, American composer, b. Atlanta. He studied at the Cleveland Institute of Music and in Paris with Nadia Boulanger. Among his compositions are three symphonies, Night Music fo...

Turpin, Dick

(Encyclopedia)Turpin, Dick, 1706–39, English robber. After a short and brutal career of horse stealing and general crime he was hanged at York. The fame—or notoriety—that he later achieved derives mainly from...

Roundheads

(Encyclopedia)Roundheads, derisive name for the supporters of Parliament during the English civil war. The name, which originated c.1641, referred to the short haircuts worn by some of the Puritans in contrast to t...

Reinmar von Zweter

(Encyclopedia)Reinmar von Zweter tsvāˈtər [key], c.1200–c.1260, German minnesinger. He is best known for his Sprüche, short and often satirical verses on politics, religion, morals, and courtly love. ...

Senegambia

(Encyclopedia)Senegambia sĕnˌĭgămˈbēə, –gämˈ– [key], short-lived (1982–89) confederation of Senegal and The Gambia. ...

Procrustes

(Encyclopedia)Procrustes prōkrŭsˈtēz [key], in Greek mythology, cruel highwayman. He forced passersby to lie on a very long bed and then stretched them to fit it. Some said that he also had a very short bed; to...

Spark, Dame Muriel

(Encyclopedia)Spark, Dame Muriel, 1918–2006, Scottish novelist, b. Muriel Sarah Camberg. She lived in Edinburgh, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), London, New York, and Rome, and spent her last years in Tuscany. Spark's t...

Cushing, Luther Stearns

(Encyclopedia)Cushing, Luther Stearns, 1803–56, American lawyer, b. Lunenburg, Mass., grad. Harvard Law School, 1826. His best-known work is his short Manual of Parliamentary Practice (1844; many later editions),...

Figueras, Estanislao

(Encyclopedia)Figueras, Estanislao āstäˌnēsläˈō fēgāˈräs [key], 1819–82, Spanish politician. After the overthrow (1868) of Isabella II, he became leader of the Republican party. He opposed King Amadeus...

Ido

(Encyclopedia)Ido ēˈdō [key], short name of Esperandido, an artificial language that is a simplified version of Esperanto. See international language. ...