TV personalityBorn: 2/14/1921Birthplace: Akron, Ohio Radio announcer who became a popular TV personality when he joined Jack Paar's The Tonight Show (1957–62). An erudite man who wowed audiences…
(Encyclopedia) parsnip, garden plant (Pastinaca sativa) of the family Umbelliferae (parsley family), native to the Old World. It has been cultivated since Roman times for its long, fleshy, edible…
(Encyclopedia) bayberry, common name for the Myricaceae, a family of trees and shrubs with aromatic foliage, found chiefly in temperate and subtropical regions. The waxy gray “berries” of the North…
(Encyclopedia) Purchas, SamuelPurchas, Samuelpûrˈkəs, –chəs [key], 1577?–1626, English clergyman and compiler of travel literature, b. Essex. Chaplain to the archbishop of Canterbury, he later was…
(Encyclopedia) birthwortbirthwortbûrthˈwûrt, –wôrt [key], common name for the Aristolochiaceae, a family of shrubs and woody climbing vines found in the tropics and other warm regions. The largest…
(Encyclopedia) Przhevalsky, Nikolai MikhailovichPrzhevalsky, Nikolai Mikhailovichnyĭkəlīˈ mēkhīˈləvĭch pərzhĭvälˈskē [key], 1839–88, Russian geographer and explorer in central and E Asia. He made…
actorBorn: 5/29/1959Birthplace: Norfolk, England Well-regarded though somewhat temperamental actor who rescued himself from obscurity with the scene-stealing role of Julia Roberts's confidante in…
novelistBorn: 1961Birthplace: Ho’olehua, Molokai, Hawaii Lois-Ann Yamanaka is a Japanese-American writer who grew up in Hawaii. With a unique voice that often uses pidgin English, Yamanaka's novels…
twin child stars Born: 6/13/1986Birthplace: Sherman Oaks, California Ashley and Mary-Kate became wildly popular in the TV series Full House (1987–95), in which they alternated playing the role of…
producerBorn: 9/5/1902Birthplace: Wahoo, Nebraska Film producer who, as Jack Warner's head of production, helped guide Warner's studio into the sound era. After a rift with Warner, he co-founded…
