(Encyclopedia) heronheronhĕrˈən [key], common name for members of the family Ardeidae, large wading birds including the bittern and the egret, found in most temperate regions but most numerous in…
(Encyclopedia) epic, long, exalted narrative poem, usually on a serious subject, centered on a heroic figure. The earliest epics, known as primary, or original, epics, were shaped from the legends of…
(Encyclopedia) Auchincloss, Louis (Louis Stanton Auchincloss)Auchincloss, Louisôˈkĭnklŏs [key], 1917–2010, American novelist and man of letters, b. Lawrence, New York; studied Yale, Univ. of Virginia…
(Encyclopedia) Notre-Dame de ParisNotre-Dame de Parisnôˈtrə-däm də pärēˈ [key] [Fr.,=Our Lady of Paris], cathedral church of Paris, a noble achievement of early Gothic architecture in France. It…
(Encyclopedia) Nightingale, Florence, 1820–1910, English nurse, the founder of modern nursing, b. Florence, Italy. Her life was dedicated to the care of the sick and war wounded and to the promotion…
(Encyclopedia) Asunción Asunción äs&oomacr;nsyōˈn [key], city, S Paraguay, capital of Paraguay, on the Paraguay River. It is the principal port and chief industrial and…
(Encyclopedia) Smith, Dame Maggie (Dame Margaret Natalie Cross), 1934–, English actress. Smith first appeared on stage in Twelfth Night (1952). With her precise, sometimes rapid-fire, articulation…
(Encyclopedia) Smith, Sydney, 1771–1845, English clergyman, writer, and wit, ordained in the Church of England in 1794. In 1798 he went as a tutor to Edinburgh, where he studied medicine,…
(Encyclopedia) Castro, Inés de, or Inez de CastroCastro, Inés de,both: īˈnĕz də kăsˈtrō, Port. ēnĕshˈ dĭ käshˈtr&oobreve; [key], d. 1355, Spanish noblewoman, a celebrated beauty, and a tragic…
