(Encyclopedia) Barnum, P. T. (Phineas Taylor Barnum)Barnum, P. T.fĭnˈēəs, bärˈnəm [key], 1810–91, American showman, b. Bethel, Conn. As a youth Barnum worked at diverse sales jobs and managed a…
Not-so-Jolly Old Elves Tim Allen puts on a few pounds for his new job in The Santa Clause.The anti-Santa—depressed and grouchy—is another way Hollywood has skewered the big guy for the sardonic…
(Encyclopedia) Rommel, ErwinRommel, Erwinĕrˈvēn rômˈəl [key], 1891–1944, German field marshal. He entered the army in 1910 and rose slowly through the ranks. In 1939, Adolf Hitler made him a general…
HOW DID ROME EXPAND? WHAT WAS THE RELIGION OF ANCIENT ROME? HOW WERE ROMAN SOLDIERS RECRUITED? SENATORSEMPERORSFIND OUT MORERome began, around 1000 BC, as a settlement of farmers and shepherds in…
actorBorn: 3/15/1933Birthplace: Miami, Florida As a child Mixon worked in the circus as a trapeze artist and tightrope walker. He began his career on the stage in 1956 and appeared in the notable…
(Mary William Ethelbert Appleton)actressBorn: 8/7/1885Birthplace: Washington, D.C. The daughter of a singing clown in the Barnum & Bailey Circus, Burke began acting at a young age and starred…
(Encyclopedia) Wied, GustavWied, Gustavg&oobreve;sˈtäf vēth [key], 1858–1914, Danish novelist, playwright, and short-story writer. Wied was celebrated as a humorist. His vision of humanity was…
(Encyclopedia) pterosaurpterosaurtĕrˈəsôrˌ [key] [Gr., = winged lizard], extinct flying reptile (commonly called pterodactyl [Gr., = wing finger]) of the order Pterosauria, common in the late…
(Richard Bernard Skelton)comedian, actorBorn: 7/18/1913Birthplace: Vincennes, Indiana Skelton's father was a circus clown who died before Red was born. By age 15 Skelton was performing on the…