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Francis Ferdinand

(Encyclopedia)Francis Ferdinand, 1863–1914, Austrian archduke, heir apparent (after 1889) of his uncle, Emperor Francis Joseph. In 1900 he married a Czech, Sophie Chotek. She was made duchess of Hohenberg, but be...

Tisza, Kálmán

(Encyclopedia)Tisza, Kálmán kälˈmän tĭˈsŏ [key], 1830–1902, Hungarian premier (1875–90), of an old Calvinist family. He entered politics in the Hungarian revolution of Mar., 1848. Elected (1861) to the ...

Rostock

(Encyclopedia)Rostock –värˌnəmünˈdə [key], city (1994 pop. 237,307), Mecklenburg–West Pomerania, NE Germany, on the Baltic Sea. It is an industrial center and a major seaport, with petroleum tank installa...

Olcott, Henry Steel

(Encyclopedia)Olcott, Henry Steel, 1832–1907, American religious leader and author, cofounder of Theosophist movement, b. Orange, N.J. After working as an agricultural scientist and a lawyer, he and Helena Blavat...

pessimism

(Encyclopedia)pessimism, philosophical opinion or doctrine that evil predominates over good; the opposite of optimism. Systematic forms of pessimism may be found in philosophy and religion. In religion Buddhism and...

Eliade, Mircea

(Encyclopedia)Eliade, Mircea mûrˈshə āˌlē-ädˈə [key], 1907–86, American philosopher and historian of comparative religion, b. Bucharest. He studied Indian philosophy and Sanskrit at the Univ. of Calcutta...

freethinkers

(Encyclopedia)freethinkers, those who arrive at conclusions, particularly in questions of religion, by employing the rules of reason while rejecting supernatural authority or ecclesiastical tradition. The freethink...

James, Henry, American student of religion and social problems

(Encyclopedia)James, Henry, 1811–82, American student of religion and social problems, b. Albany, N.Y.; father of the philosopher William James and of the novelist Henry James. He rebelled against the strict Calv...

Evander

(Encyclopedia)Evander ĭvănˈdər [key], in Greek religion, a minor deity worshiped in Arcadia in connection with Pan. In Roman religion, he was said to have introduced the worship of Faunus and to have founded th...

Norns

(Encyclopedia)Norns, the Norse Fates. Like the Fates of Greek religion and mythology, the Norns spun and wove the web of life. Belief in the Norns was of great importance in Germanic religion and life. It was said ...