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National Gallery of Art

(Encyclopedia)National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, established by an act of Congress, 1937. Andrew W. Mellon donated funds for construction of the building as well...

New Zealand literature

(Encyclopedia)New Zealand literature. In the 20th cent. New Zealand developed a vital literary tradition, though only a few of its authors are well-known outside its islands: Katherine Mansfield, short-story writer...

Paoli, Pasquale

(Encyclopedia)Paoli, Pasquale päskwäˈlā päˈōlē [key], 1725–1807, Corsican patriot. He shared the exile (1739–55) of his father, Giacinto Paoli, who had fought against the Genoese rulers of the island. I...

Paterson

(Encyclopedia)Paterson, city (1990 pop. 140,891), seat of Passaic co., NE N.J., at the falls of the Passaic River; inc. 1851. Founded in 1791 by Alexander Hamilton and others of the Society for Establishing Useful ...

Warner Brothers

(Encyclopedia)Warner Brothers, American movie studio executives and producers. Sons of poor E European Jewish immigrants, the brothers were Harry Morris (1881–1958), Albert (1884–1967), Samuel Louis (1887–192...

Zeffirelli, Franco

(Encyclopedia)Zeffirelli, Franco frängˈkō zāf-fērĕlˈlē [key], 1923–2019, Italian opera, stage, and film director and designer, b. Florence as Gianfranco Corsi Zeffirelli. Zeffirelli had his first successe...

Roe v. Wade

(Encyclopedia)Roe v. Wade, case decided in 1973 by the U.S. Supreme Court. Along with Doe v. Bolton, this decision legalized abortion in the first trimester of ...

Supreme Court Justices (table)

(Encyclopedia)Supreme Court Justices(including dates on bench) Chief Justices Associate Justices ...

steamship

(Encyclopedia)steamship, watercraft propelled by a steam engine or a steam turbine. Despite such innovations as turbo-electric drive, which converts steam energy into rotational power for turning the propeller...

funeral customs

(Encyclopedia)funeral customs, rituals surrounding the death of a human being and the subsequent disposition of the corpse. Such rites may serve to mark the passage of a person from life into death, to secure the w...