1470 To hide her pregnancy, Queen Juana of Portugal wore the first hoop skirt.1477 Anne of Burgundy became the first woman to receive a diamond engagement ring. It was given to her by Maximilian I…
(Encyclopedia) Majuba HillMajuba Hillməj&oomacr;ˈbə [key], E KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, in the Drakensberg Range. On Feb. 27, 1881, a British force of 500 was routed there by Boer (Afrikaner)…
(Encyclopedia) Exeter Book, manuscript volume of Old English religious and secular poetry, of various dates of composition, compiled c.975 and given to Exeter Cathedral by Bishop Leofric (d. 1072).…
(Encyclopedia) Oldham, John, 1653–83, English poet and satirist. His best-known works are the ironical Satires against the Jesuits (1681) and A Satire against Virtue (1679). He was much admired by…
(Encyclopedia) Boston Latin School, at Boston; opened 1635 as a school for boys; one of the oldest free public schools in the United States. Many famous men attended the school, including five…
(Encyclopedia) Morgan, Sir Henry, 1635?–1688, Welsh buccaneer. In his youth he went to the West Indies, eventually joining the buccaneers there. On the death (1667) of Edward Mansfield, Morgan took…
(Encyclopedia) Lang, FritzLang, Fritzläng [key], 1890–1976, German-American film director, b. Vienna. His silent and early sound films, notably the iconic masterpiece Metropolis (1926) with its…
(Encyclopedia) Malamud, BernardMalamud, Bernardmălˈəməd [key], 1914–86, American author, b. New York City, grad. College of the City of New York (B.A., 1936), Columbia (M.A., 1942). His works…
(Encyclopedia) Cousteau, Jacques YvesCousteau, Jacques Yveszhäk ēv k&oomacr;stōˈ [key], 1910–97, French oceanographer and naval officer. In 1943, with Émil Gagnan, he invented the self-contained…
