(Encyclopedia) Smollett, Tobias GeorgeSmollett, Tobias Georgesmŏlˈĭt [key], 1721–71, Scottish novelist. After studying at Glasgow he came to London in 1739. Failing to get his tragedy The Regicide…
(Encyclopedia) New York Central RR, U.S. transportation compay formed in 1853 by the consolidation of many small New York state railroads. In 1867, Cornelius Vanderbilt became president of the…
(Encyclopedia) dictator, originally a Roman magistrate appointed to rule the state in times of emergency; in modern usage, an absolutist or autocratic ruler who assumes extraconstitutional powers.…
(Encyclopedia) Dolabella (Publius Cornelius Dolabella)Dolabelladŏləbĕlˈə [key], c.70 b.c.–43 b.c., Roman general, notorious for his unscrupulousness. He divorced his wife Fabia and married (50 b.c.)…
(Encyclopedia) Corelli, FrancoCorelli, Francofrängˈkō [key]Heym, Stefan kōrĕlˈlē [key], 1921–2003, Italian tenor. He made his operatic debut at Spoleto in 1952 as Don José in Bizet's Carmen and…
(Encyclopedia) Herrera, Fernando deHerrera, Fernando defārnänˈdō ᵺā ārāˈrä [key], 1534–97, Spanish poet. One of the outstanding poets of the 16th cent. and the leader of the Seville school, he earned…
(Encyclopedia) abbreviation, in writing, arbitrary shortening of a word, usually by cutting off letters from the end, as in U.S. and Gen. (General). Contraction serves the same purpose…
(Encyclopedia) Pedersen, Charles John, 1904–89, American chemist, b. Busan, Korea, M.S. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1927. After finishing his studies, Pedersen began work as a research…
(Encyclopedia) Pinza, EzioPinza, Ezioātsˈyō pēnˈtsä [key], 1892–1957, Italian bass, b. Rome, studied at the Bologna Conservatory. After military service (1915–19), he resumed his operatic career in…
