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Weegee

(Encyclopedia)Weegee, pseud. of Arthur Fellig, 1899–1968, American photojournalist, b. Zolochiv, Ukraine (then in Austria-Hungary) as Usher Fellig. His family immigrated (1910) to New York City, where he soon qui...

West, Kanye Omari

(Encyclopedia) West, Kanye Omari, 1977- , African American rapper, b. Atlanta (some sources give Douglasville), Al. West’s father, Ray, was a Black Panther who ...

blackbody

(Encyclopedia)blackbody, in physics, an ideal black substance that absorbs all and reflects none of the radiant energy falling on it. Lampblack, or powdered carbon, which reflects less than 2% of the radiation fall...

Cobbett, William

(Encyclopedia)Cobbett, William kŏbˈĭt [key], 1763?–1835, British journalist and reformer. The son of a farm laborer, he ran away from home at 14 and later joined the British army. He resigned in order to expos...

poster

(Encyclopedia)poster, placard designed to be posted in some public place for purposes of commercial announcement or propaganda. Advertising makes wide use of posters, as do charitable and political organizations. I...

wildlife refuge

(Encyclopedia)wildlife refuge, haven or sanctuary for animals; an area of land or of land and water set aside and maintained, usually by government or private organization, for the preservation and protection of on...

Dos Passos, John Roderigo

(Encyclopedia)Dos Passos, John Roderigo, 1896–1970, American novelist, b. Chicago, grad. Harvard, 1916. He subsequently studied in Spain and served as a World War I ambulance driver in France and Italy. In his fi...

speculation

(Encyclopedia)speculation, practice of engaging in business in order to make quick profits from fluctuations in prices, as opposed to the practice of investing in a productive enterprise in order to share in its ea...

casino

(Encyclopedia)casino or cassino both: kəsēˈnō [key]. 1 Card game played with a full deck by two to four players. Its origins are obscure though it probably traces back to the Italian game of Scopa. It is a very...

Lessing, Doris

(Encyclopedia)Lessing, Doris, 1919–2013, British novelist, b. Kermanshah, Persia (now Iran) as Doris May Tayler. Largely self-educated, she was brought up on a farm in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), and in 194...