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Gracchi

(Encyclopedia)Gracchi grăkˈī [key], two Roman statesmen and social reformers, sons of the consul Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus and of Cornelia. The brothers were brought up with great care by their mother. Tiberi...

Allen, Ethan

(Encyclopedia)Allen, Ethan, 1738–89, hero of the American Revolution, leader of the Green Mountain Boys, and promoter of the independence and statehood of Vermont, b. Litchfield (?), Conn. He had some schooling a...

Finnish literature

(Encyclopedia)Finnish literature. The first printed work in Finnish was the ABC book published c.1542 by Bishop Michael Agricola (1508–57). In 1642 the first complete translation of the Bible in Finnish appeared ...

Stowe, Harriet Beecher

(Encyclopedia)Stowe, Harriet Beecher, 1811–96, American novelist and humanitarian, b. Litchfield, Conn. With her novel Uncle Tom's Cabin, she stirred the conscience of Americans concerning slavery and thereby inf...

Spector, Phil

(Encyclopedia) Spector, Phil (Harvey Philip), 1939-2021, American record producer, b. Bronx, NY. The child of Russian Jewish immigrants, Spector’s father passed awa...

Irving, Washington

(Encyclopedia)Irving, Washington, 1783–1859, American author and diplomat, b. New York City. Irving was one of the first Americans to be recognized abroad as a man of letters, and he was a literary idol at home. ...

Providence

(Encyclopedia)Providence, city (1990 pop. 160,728), state capital and seat of Providence co., NE R.I., a port at the head of Providence Bay; founded by Roger Williams 1636, inc. as a city 1832. The largest city in ...

Rhodes, Cecil John

(Encyclopedia)Rhodes, Cecil John sĕsˈĭl, rōdz [key], 1853–1902, British imperialist and business magnate. A trip in 1875 through the rich territories of Transvaal and Bechuanaland apparently helped to insp...

bell, musical instrument

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Bell bell, in music, a percussion instrument consisting of a hollow metal vessel, often cup-shaped with an outward-flaring rim, damped at one end and set into vibration by a blow from a clappe...

Teutonic Knights

(Encyclopedia)Teutonic Knights or Teutonic Order to͞otŏnˈĭk [key], German military religious order founded (1190–91) during the siege of Acre in the Third Crusade. It was originally known as the Order of the ...