actorBorn: 10/22/1938Birthplace: Leytonstone, East London, England Sir Derek Jacobi's myriad stage roles have included Cyrano de Bergerac, Uncle Vanya, Adolf Hitler, Oedipus Rex, and a slew of…
(Encyclopedia) Lydgate, JohnLydgate, Johnlĭdˈgāt [key], c.1370–c.1450, English poet, a monk of Bury St. Edmunds. A professed disciple of Chaucer, he was one of the most influential, voluminous, and…
(Encyclopedia) George, Saint, 4th cent.?, perhaps a soldier in the imperial army who died for the faith in Asia Minor. His life is cloaked in legends; Gibbon's identification of him with George of…
(Encyclopedia) Douglas, William, 1st earl of Douglas and Mar, 1327?–1384, Scottish nobleman; nephew of Sir James de Douglas, lord of Douglas. About 1348 he returned to Scotland from France and…
(Encyclopedia) Timothy, two letters of the New Testament. With Titus they comprise the Pastoral Epistles, in which St. Paul addresses his coworkers as the guardians and transmitters of his teaching.…
(Encyclopedia) tarotstarotstârˈōz [key], playing cards that are used mainly for fortunetelling, sometimes called “the book of divination of the Gypsies.” It is generally believed that the cards were…
(Encyclopedia) Calvino, ItaloCalvino, Italoĭtəlō călvēˈnō [key], 1923–85, Italian novelist. Calvino was one of the most popular novelists of the 20th cent. Although loneliness is an essential…
(Encyclopedia) Büchner, GeorgBüchner, Georggāˈôrk bükhˈnər [key], 1813–37, German dramatist. He was a student of medicine and a political agitator. He died at the age of 24, leaving a powerful drama…
JACKSON, Richard, Jr., a Representative from Rhode Island; born in Providence, R.I., July 3, 1764; completed preparatory studies in the schools of Providence and Pomfret, Conn.; entered the…