(Encyclopedia) haremharemhârˈəm [key] [Arabic], term applied to women's apartments in a Muslim household. In the ancient Arab world women enjoyed a certain amount of freedom. However, with the advent…
(Encyclopedia) KaukaunaKaukaunakôkôˈnə [key], city (1990 pop. 11,982), Outagamie co., E Wis., on the Fox River; settled 1793, inc. 1885. The city is a processing center for cheese and other dairy…
(Encyclopedia) PleiadesPleiadesplēˈədēz, plīˈ– [key], in astronomy, famous open star cluster in the constellation Taurus; cataloged as M45. The cluster consists of some 500 stars, has a diameter of…
(Encyclopedia) Hunter, William, 1718–83, Scottish physician. He was famous as a lecturer, as London's leading obstetrician, as professor of anatomy and later president of the Royal Academy of Arts,…
(Encyclopedia) Cabrini, Saint Frances XavierCabrini, Saint Frances Xavierzāˈvyər kəbrēˈnē [key], 1850–1917, American nun, founder of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, b. near Lodi…
(Encyclopedia) Athelstan or ÆthelstanÆthelstanboth: ăthˈəlstən, ăthˈĕlstän [key], d. 939, king of Wessex (924–39), son and successor of Edward the Elder. After coming to the throne, he vigorously…
(Encyclopedia) Pascoli, GiovanniPascoli, Giovannijōvänˈnē päˈskōlē [key], 1855–1912, Italian poet. Pascoli's childhood was marked by a series of tragedies: the deaths of his parents and of five of…
(Encyclopedia) Wasserstein, Wendy, 1950–2006, American playwright, b. Brooklyn, N.Y. Wasserstein, who made a place on the American stage for contemporary women and their concerns, explored such…
Protestant nunBorn: Jan. 3, 1816Birthplace: London, England Ayres came to the United States in 1836 and settled in New York City. She worked as a governess until 1845, when she decided to pursue a…
(Encyclopedia) Mason, James, 1909–84, British stage and film actor. Mason, trained at Cambridge as an architect, became a leading man in British films in the 1940s and thereafter an international…