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Atanasoff, John Vincent

(Encyclopedia)Atanasoff, John Vincent, 1903–1995, inventor of the digital computer, b. Hamilton, N.Y., grad. Univ. of Florida (B.S., 1925), Iowa State College (M.S., 1926), Univ. of Wisconsin (Ph.D., 1930). While...

Morris, Richard Brandon

(Encyclopedia)Morris, Richard Brandon, 1904–89, American historian, b. New York City. He received his Ph.D. from Columbia in 1930, taught (1927–49) at the College of the City of New York, became a professor at ...

Pascoli, Giovanni

(Encyclopedia)Pascoli, Giovanni jōvänˈnē päˈskōlē [key], 1855–1912, Italian poet. Pascoli's childhood was marked by a series of tragedies: the deaths of his parents and of five of his brothers and sisters...

Oyono, Ferdinand Léopold

(Encyclopedia)Oyono, Ferdinand Léopold ōyōˈnō, ōˌyōnōˈ [key], 1929–2010, Cameroonian statesman and novelist writing in French. After studying in Africa and in Paris at the Law School and the National Sc...

Leeuwenhoek, Antony van

(Encyclopedia)Leeuwenhoek, Antony van änˈtōnē vän lāˈvənho͞okˌ [key], 1632–1723, Dutch student of natural history and maker of microscopes, b. Delft. His use of lenses in examining cloth as a draper's a...

Caravaggio, Polidoro Caldara da

(Encyclopedia)Caravaggio, Polidoro Caldara da dä kärävädˈjō [key], c.1496–1543, Italian painter. His surname, Caravaggio, came from his birthplace. A student of Raphael, he was responsible for some of the ...

Walter, Thomas Ustick

(Encyclopedia)Walter, Thomas Ustick, 1804–87, American architect, b. Philadelphia. In 1819 he entered the office of William Strickland in Philadelphia as a student. In 1830 he began practice, the county prison (1...

Sigurðsson, Jón

(Encyclopedia)Sigurðsson, Jón yōn sĭˈkhürᵺsōn [key], 1811–79, Icelandic statesman and historian. A student in Copenhagen from 1833, he developed an interest in Icelandic literature and history, on which ...

Peter Lombard

(Encyclopedia)Peter Lombard, Lat. Petrus Lombardus, c.1100–c.1160, Italian theologian, often called Magister Sententiarum. He studied at Bologna, Reims, and Paris, where he is said to have been a student of Abela...

Wahhabi

(Encyclopedia)Wahhabi or Wahabi wähäˈbē [key], reform movement in Islam, originating in Arabia; adherents of the movement usually refer to themselves as Muwahhidun [unitarians]. It was founded by Muhammad ibn A...