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match

(Encyclopedia)match, small stick whose chemically coated tip bursts into flame when struck on a rough surface. Before the introduction of the match, fire was made by friction methods using the stick and the groove,...

Balenciaga, Cristóbal

(Encyclopedia)Balenciaga, Cristóbal krĭstōˈbäl bälĕnthyäˈgä [key], 1895–1972, Spanish-born French fashion designer. He established houses of couture in Spain (1919–31) and Paris (1937–68) and quickl...

Skou, Jens Christian

(Encyclopedia)Skou, Jens Christian, 1918–2018, Danish chemist, M.D. Univ. of Copenhagen, 1944, Ph.D. Univ. of Aarhus, 1954. Skou was on the faculty at the Univ. of Aarhus, Denmark, from 1947 until he retired in 1...

Moss, Sir Stirling Craufurd

(Encyclopedia)Moss, Sir Stirling Craufurd, 1929–2020, British auto racing driver. Known for his sportsmanship, speed, and courage, Moss became a full-time driver on the Grand Prix circuit in 1953. He subsequently...

Davis, Stuart

(Encyclopedia)Davis, Stuart, 1894–1964, American painter, b. Philadelphia, studied with Robert Henri in New York City. At the age of 19 he did drawings and covers for The Masses and exhibited in the Armory Show. ...

Robinson, Sugar Ray

(Encyclopedia)Robinson, Sugar Ray, 1920–89, American boxer, b. Detroit as Walker Smith, Jr. He began boxing after three years of high school in New York City. Having won all his amateur fights (about 90), includi...

Tupac Amaru

(Encyclopedia)Tupac Amaru to͞opäkˈ ämäˈro͞o [key], 1742?–1781, leader of indigenous peoples in the viceroyalty of Peru, baptized José Gabriel Condorcanqui. A man of some education and of high moral charac...

Wright, Judith

(Encyclopedia)Wright, Judith (Judith Arundell Wright), 1915–2000, Australian poet. After graduating from the Univ. of Sydney, she worked variously as a clerk, secretary, and statistician. She is regarded as one o...

Hooker, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Hooker, Thomas, 1586–1647, Puritan clergyman in the American colonies, chief founder of Hartford, Conn., b. Leicestershire, England. A clergyman, he was ordered to appear before the court of high co...

Cumberland Gap

(Encyclopedia)Cumberland Gap, natural passage through the Cumberland Mts., near the point where Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee meet. The gap was formed by the erosive action of a stream that once flowed there. I...