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Naevius, Gnaeus

(Encyclopedia)Naevius, Gnaeus nīˈəs nēˈvəs [key], c.264–195 b.c., Roman poet and dramatist. Born in Campania, he served in the first Punic War (264–241 b.c.), which he evoked in De Bello Punico. Now only ...

Lillo, George

(Encyclopedia)Lillo, George, 1693–1739, English dramatist. The son of a prosperous jeweller, he was for many years his father's partner in the trade. He is chiefly remembered as the author of The London Merchant;...

Wilson, Sir Angus

(Encyclopedia)Wilson, Sir Angus, 1913–91, English novelist, b. South Africa. As a novelist, he attempted to delineate a society in which traditional values have lost their force and human relationships are corrup...

Crommelynck, Fernand

(Encyclopedia)Crommelynck, Fernand fĕrnäNˈ krôməlăNkˈ [key], 1885?–1970, Belgian dramatist, b. Paris. Crommelynck's first great success was a tragic farce about jealousy, Le Cocu magnifique (1921, tr. The ...

Grau, Jacinto

(Encyclopedia)Grau, Jacinto häthēnˈtō grou [key], 1877–1958, Spanish dramatist, b. Barcelona. Participating in Spain's early-20th-century literary renaissance, Grau slowly gained recognition for his strikingl...

Lope de Rueda

(Encyclopedia)Lope de Rueda lōˈpā dā ro͞oāˈᵺä [key], 1510?–1565, Spanish dramatist. A precursor of the Golden Age of Spanish literature, Rueda was an actor and a manager as well as a playwright. He is s...

Ferreira, António

(Encyclopedia)Ferreira, António äntôˈnyo͝o fərēˈrə [key], c.1528–69, Portuguese dramatist and poet. Ferreira served as a privy councillor and a magistrate. Influenced by the Italian Renaissance, he wrote...

electric and magnetic units

(Encyclopedia)electric and magnetic units, units used to express the magnitudes of various quantities in electricity and magnetism. Three systems of such units, all based on the metric system, are commonly used. On...

Alien and Sedition Acts

(Encyclopedia)Alien and Sedition Acts, 1798, four laws enacted by the Federalist-controlled U.S. Congress, allegedly in response to the hostile actions of the French Revolutionary government on the seas and in the ...

Dutch and Flemish literature

(Encyclopedia)Dutch and Flemish literature, literary works written in the standard language of the Low Countries since the Middle Ages. It is conventional to use the term Dutch when referring to the language spoken...