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poet laureate

(Encyclopedia)poet laureate lôˈrēĭt [key], title conferred in Britain by the monarch on a poet whose duty it is to write commemorative odes and verse. It is an outgrowth of the medieval English custom of having...

Beth-shan

(Encyclopedia)Beth-shan bĕth-shēˈən [key], ancient town, at the meeting of the Vale of Jezreel with the Jordan valley. It was the most strategic point of E ancient Palestine, with the crossing of four roads. Re...

Constantine, Russian grand duke

(Encyclopedia)Constantine (Konstantin Pavlovich) kənstəntyēnˈ pävˈləvĭch [key], 1779–1831, Russian grand duke, second son of Czar Paul I and brother of Alexander I and Nicholas I. On the death of Alexande...

Brown, John Carter

(Encyclopedia)Brown, John Carter, 1797–1874, American book collector and philanthropist, b. Providence, R.I.; son of Nicholas Brown. In about 1840 he began collecting books printed before 1800 relating to America...

Santa Claus

(Encyclopedia)Santa Claus: see Nicholas, Saint. ...

Paskevich, Ivan Feodorovich

(Encyclopedia)Paskevich, Ivan Feodorovich ēvänˈ fyôˈdərəvĭch pəskyĕˈvĭch [key], 1782–1856, Russian army officer and administrator. He fought in the Napoleonic Wars, was created count of Erivan after c...

Holbrook, Hal

(Encyclopedia) Holbrook, Hal (Harold Rowe, Jr.), 1925-2021, American actor, b. Cleveland, Oh. (Denison Univ., BA, 1947). Holbrook was raised by his grandparents in S...

Guchkov, Aleksandr Ivanovich

(Encyclopedia)Guchkov, Aleksandr Ivanovich əlyĭksänˈdər ēväˈnəvĭch go͝ochˈkôf [key], 1862–1936, Russian political leader. A prominent businessman, during the 1905 revolution he helped found the Octob...

Rubinstein, Anton Grigoryevich

(Encyclopedia)Rubinstein, Anton Grigoryevich əntônˈ grîgôrˈyəvĭch ro͞oˈbĭnstīn [key], 1829–94, Russian pianist, composer, and educator. As a piano virtuoso he was celebrated for his perfect technique ...

Witte, Count Sergei Yulyevich

(Encyclopedia)Witte, Count Sergei Yulyevich syĭrgāˈ yo͞oˈlyĭvĭch vĭtˈə [key], 1849–1915, Russian premier. A railway administrator, he became minister of communications (1892) and minister of finance (18...