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Harington, Sir John

(Encyclopedia)Harington, Sir John, 1560?–1612, English author. He spent most of his career at the court of Queen Elizabeth I, where he became known for his indelicate humor. His Rabelaisian Metamorphosis of Ajax ...

Guareschi, Giovanni

(Encyclopedia)Guareschi, Giovanni jōväˈnē gwärĕsˈkē [key], 1908–68, Italian journalist and novelist. Guareschi edited a humorous weekly before World War II and in 1945 helped to found the popular weekly C...

Owl and the Nightingale, The

(Encyclopedia)Owl and the Nightingale, The, Middle English poem written probably by Nicholas de Guildford of Dorsetshire about the beginning of the 13th cent. Written in 2,000 lines of octosyllabic couplets, it des...

Billings, Josh

(Encyclopedia)Billings, Josh, pseud. of Henry Wheeler Shaw, 1818–85, American humorist and lecturer, b. Lanesboro, Mass. After a roving life as farmer, explorer, and coal miner, he settled in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., ...

Semonides of Amorgos

(Encyclopedia)Semonides of Amorgos sĭmŏnˈĭdēz, əmôrˈgŏs [key], fl. c.650 b.c., Greek iambic poet, b. Samos. He led a colony to the island of Amorgos in the SE Cyclades c.630 b.c. In one of the few extant f...

Slezak, Leo

(Encyclopedia)Slezak, Leo slāˈzäk [key], 1873–1946, Czech tenor, pupil of Jean de Reszke. After his debut as Lohengrin at Brno in 1896, he sang in Vienna, Berlin, and later at the Metropolitan Opera, New York ...

Colman, Ronald

(Encyclopedia)Colman, Ronald, 1891–1958, British stage and film actor. Dignified in demeanor and voice, Colman created an image of kindness, humor, erudition, and romantic appeal. His films include the silent Ste...

Graf, Urs

(Encyclopedia)Graf or Graff, Urs o͝ors [key], c.1485–1528, Swiss wood engraver, etcher, painter, and goldsmith, studied at Basel. He was influenced by the work of Dürer and Hans Baldung. One of the first to emp...

Opper, Frederick Burr

(Encyclopedia)Opper, Frederick Burr, 1857–1937, American cartoonist and illustrator, b. Madison, Ohio. He began as a contributor to comic papers and was associated with Frank Leslie's publications for three years...

Chadwick, George Whitefield

(Encyclopedia)Chadwick, George Whitefield, 1854–1931, American composer, b. Lowell, Mass., studied in Germany. In 1882 he joined the faculty of the New England Conservatory of Music, of which he was director from...