Pagan festivals, Christian saints, Chaucer's love birds, and the Greeting Card Association of America by Borgna Brunner Roman Roots The history of Valentine's Day is obscure, and…
(Encyclopedia) Vouet, SimonVouet, SimonsēmôNˈ vwā [key], 1590–1649, French portrait and decorative painter. He first established himself as a successful painter in Rome. Recalled to France in 1627 as…
(Encyclopedia) Robinson, Lennox, 1886–1958, Irish dramatist. From 1910 to 1923 he was manager of the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, and he served as director there from 1923 until his death. The comedy The…
(Encyclopedia) Seven Sleepers of EphesusSeven Sleepers of Ephesusĕfˈĭsəs [key], in a Christian version of a widespread story, martyrs immured in a cave near Ephesus during the persecutions by Decius…
(Encyclopedia) Mason, Lowell, 1792–1872, American composer and music educator, b. Medfield, Mass. While working as a bank clerk in Savannah, Ga., he helped compile an anthology that was published as…
ARTHUR, Chester Alan, a Vice President and 21st President of the United States; born in Fairfield, Franklin County, Vt., October 5, 1829; attended the public schools and graduated from Union…
Archbishop of GreeceDied: January 28, 2008 (Athens, Greece) Best Known as: reformist turned conservative Archbishop of Greece Head of the Greek Orthodox Church,…
Roman martyr Born: 2nd or 3rd century A Roman martyr, St. Cecilia is the patron saint of music in the Catholic tradition. Her name is often taken by musical associations. In paintings—most famously…
(Encyclopedia) Worms, Concordat of, 1122, agreement reached by Pope Calixtus II and Holy Roman Emperor Henry V to put an end to the struggle over investiture. By its terms the emperor guaranteed free…
(Encyclopedia) Fort Bragg, U.S. army base, 11,136 acres (4,507 hectares), E N.C., N of Fayetteville; est. 1918. Originally an artillery post, it is now the principal U.S. army airborne-training…
