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Berger, John Peter

(Encyclopedia)Berger, John Peter bûrˈjər [key], 1926–2017, British art critic, cultural historian, and writer, b. London. Berger, who began his career as a painter, is best known for his art criticism. He wrot...

Chopin, Frédéric François

(Encyclopedia)Chopin, Frédéric François frādārēkˈ fräNswäˈ shôpăNˈ [key], 1810–49, composer for the piano, b. near Warsaw, of French and Polish parentage. His lyrical, often melancholy, compositions ...

canning

(Encyclopedia)canning, process of hermetically sealing cooked food for future use. It is a preservation method, in which prepared food is put in glass jars or metal cans that are hermetically sealed to keep out air...

Hobbes, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Hobbes, Thomas hŏbz [key], 1588–1679, English philosopher, grad. Magdalen College, Oxford, 1608. For many years a tutor in the Cavendish family, Hobbes took great interest in mathematics, physics, ...

Romanian literature

(Encyclopedia)Romanian literature, the literature of Romania. Until the 16th cent. most writing by Romanians was in Slavonic. In 1541 a catechism in Romanian was issued at Sibiu, and from 1560 liturgical works were...

Dutch art

(Encyclopedia)Dutch art, the art of the region that is now the Netherlands. As a distinct national style, this art dates from about the turn of the 17th cent., when the country emerged as a political entity and dev...

cosmology

(Encyclopedia)cosmology, area of science that aims at a comprehensive theory of the structure and evolution of the entire physical universe. The earliest pre-Ptolemaic theories assumed that the earth was the cent...