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Elkins, Stephen Benton

(Encyclopedia)Elkins, Stephen Benton, 1841–1911, American statesman, b. Perry co., Ohio. He grew up in Missouri and after the outbreak of the Civil War enlisted in the Union army, although his father and brother ...

kite, in aviation and recreation

(Encyclopedia)kite, in aviation, aircraft restrained by a towline and deriving its lift from the aerodynamic action of the wind flowing across it. Commonly the kite consists of a light framework upon which paper, s...

Kikwete, Jakaya Mrisho

(Encyclopedia)Kikwete, Jakaya Mrisho jäkäˈyä kĭkwĕˈtā [key], 1950–, Tanzanian political leader, b. Msoga, Tanganyika, grad. Univ. of Dar es Salaam (1978). He joined the defense forces while in college, an...

Rittenhouse, David

(Encyclopedia)Rittenhouse, David, 1732–96, American astronomer and instrument maker, b. near Germantown, Pa., self-educated. A clockmaker by trade, he developed great skill in the making of mathematical instrumen...

Williamson, Hugh

(Encyclopedia)Williamson, Hugh, 1735–1819, American political leader, physician, and scientist, b. West Nottingham, Pa. He studied theology, preached for a short time, and then was (1760–63) professor of mathem...

Wyatt, James

(Encyclopedia)Wyatt, James, 1746–1813, English architect. He worked in many styles but is best known as one of the originators of the Gothic revival. Appointed surveyor at Westminster Abbey in 1776, he did cathed...

bluestocking

(Encyclopedia)bluestocking, derisive term originally applied to certain 18th-century women with pronounced literary interests. During the 1750s, Elizabeth Vesey held evening parties, at which the entertainment cons...

Berlin Philharmonic

(Encyclopedia)Berlin Philharmonic, orchestra, Berlin, Germany, founded 1882 by musicans who had left an ensemble led by Benjamin Bilse. The orchestra performs in the modernist Philharmonie concert hall (1963). Amon...

Récamier, Juliette

(Encyclopedia)Récamier, Juliette zhülyĕtˈ rākämyāˈ [key], 1777–1849, celebrated French beauty and social figure, née Jeanne Françoise Julie Adelaïde Bernard. At 15 she married Jacques Récamier, a weal...

Sparks, Jared

(Encyclopedia)Sparks, Jared, 1789–1866, American historian and educator, b. Willington, Conn. He studied theology, mathematics, and natural philosophy at Harvard (1817–19). He was pastor of a Unitarian church i...