(Encyclopedia) Bedford, Sybille, 1911–2006, English writer, b. Charlottenberg, Germany, as Sybille von Schoenebeck. She worked as a legal reporter for various publications, covering more than 100…
(Encyclopedia) Tolkien, J. R. R. (John Ronald Reuel Tolkien)Tolkien, J. R. R.tälˈkēn, tōlˈ– [key], 1892–1973, British novelist, b. South Africa. A fantasy writer and Oxford don, Tolkien wrote The…
(Encyclopedia) Słowacki, JuliuszSłowacki, Juliuszy&oomacr;lˈy&oomacr;sh slôvätsˈkē [key], 1809–49, Polish writer, one of the foremost Polish romantic poets. A revolutionist, he joined the…
(Encyclopedia) Kotelawala, Sir John Lionel, 1895–1980, Sri Lankan political and military leader. After studying at Christ College, Cambridge, he returned to Sri Lanka (then the British colony of…
(Encyclopedia) Hooker, John Lee, 1917–2001, American blues singer and guitarist, b. near Clarksdale, Miss. From a cotton-sharecropping family, he learned the blues from his stepfather and various…
(Encyclopedia) Domingo, PlácidoDomingo, Plácidoplăˈcēdō dōmēˈgō [key], 1941–, Spanish operatic tenor, b. Madrid, Spain. He made his operatic debut in Mexico City in 1961 and his New York debut at the…
(Encyclopedia) Donizetti, GaetanoDonizetti, Gaetanogītäˈnō dōnēdzĕtˈtē [key], 1797–1848, Italian composer. He studied music in Bergamo and Bologna and achieved success with his first opera, Enrico di…
(Encyclopedia) Amadis of GaulAmadis of Gaulămˈədĭs [key], Fr. Amadis de GauleAmadis of Gaulämädēsˈ də gōl [key], famous prose romance of chivalry, first composed in Spain or Portugal and probably…
(Encyclopedia) Fischer-Dieskau, DietrichFischer-Dieskau, Dietrichdēˈtrĭkh fĭshˈər-dēsˈkou [key], 1925–2012, German baritone. Possessed of a sensitive voice capable of a wide variety of range and…