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contact lens

(Encyclopedia)contact lens, thin plastic lens worn between the eye and eyelid that may be used instead of eyeglasses. Actors, models, and others wear them for appearance, and athletes use them for safety and conven...

Tabernacles, Feast of

(Encyclopedia)Tabernacles, Feast of, one of the oldest and most joyous of Jewish holidays, called in the Bible the Feast of Ingathering and today often called by its Hebrew name, Sukkoth [Heb.,=booth]. The holiday ...

Bartram, John

(Encyclopedia)Bartram, John bärˈtrəm [key], 1699–1777, pioneer American botanist, b. near Darby, Pa. He had no formal schooling but possessed a keen mind and a great interest in plants. In 1728 he purchased la...

Tet offensive

(Encyclopedia)Tet offensive, 1968, a series of crucial battles in the Vietnam War. On Jan. 31, 1968, the first day of the celebration of the lunar new year, Vietnam's most important holiday, the Vietnamese Communis...

Tarbell, Ida Minerva

(Encyclopedia)Tarbell, Ida Minerva, 1857–1944, American author, b. Erie co., Pa., grad. Allegheny College (B.A., 1880; M.A., 1883). One of the leading muckrakers, she is remembered for her investigations of indus...

Benbow, John

(Encyclopedia)Benbow, John bĕnˈbō [key], 1653–1702, English admiral. Some of the stories of his exploits seem to be legendary, but he did command the fleet and successfully fight the French at La Hogue (1692),...

Gunpowder Plot

(Encyclopedia)Gunpowder Plot, conspiracy to blow up the English Parliament and King James I on Nov. 5, 1605, the day set for the king to open Parliament. It was intended to be the beginning of a great uprising of E...

Bowen, Elizabeth

(Encyclopedia)Bowen, Elizabeth bōˈĭn [key], 1899–1973, Anglo-Irish novelist, b. Dublin. In impeccable prose she treated love and frustration through studies of complex psychological relationships. Her novels i...

Utah , state, United States

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Utah yo͞oˈtäˌ [key], Rocky Mt. state of the W United States. It is bordered by Idaho and Wyoming (N), Colorado (E), Arizona (S), and Nevada (W), and touches New Mexico in the SE, at the Fou...