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Neumann, Johann Balthasar

(Encyclopedia)Neumann, Johann Balthasar yōˈhän bältäsärˈ noiˈmän [key], 1687–1753, German architect. He traveled (1718) in Austria and N Italy and studied (1723) in Paris. Neumann designed several palace...

Melankomas of Caria

(Encyclopedia)Melankomas of Caria, d. c. a.d. 70, ancient Greek boxer. Known for his exceptional beauty, conditioning, and endurance, he is said to have always held his arms up high in defense, thus protecting his ...

Menzel, Donald Howard

(Encyclopedia)Menzel, Donald Howard, 1901–76, American astrophysicist, b. Florence, Colo. From 1926 to 1932 he was with the Lick Observatory in Calif. In 1932 he joined the faculty at Harvard, where he became pro...

Leopold, Aldo

(Encyclopedia)Leopold, Aldo, 1886–1948, American ecologist, b. Burlington, Iowa. He was an advocate for a “land ethic,” in which humans see themselves as part of a natural community. After work in the U.S. Fo...

Lazarus, Emma

(Encyclopedia)Lazarus, Emma, 1849–87, American poet and essayist, b. New York City. Her early verse includes Admetus and Other Poems (1871) and The Spagnoletto (1876), a poetic drama. Enraged by the Russian pogro...

Louise

(Encyclopedia)Louise ləwēzˈ [key], 1776–1810, queen of Prussia, consort of Frederick William III; a princess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. During the Napoleonic Wars her patriotism and bravery won her lasting popul...

Kayser, Heinrich Gustav Johannes

(Encyclopedia)Kayser, Heinrich Gustav Johannes hīnˈrĭkh go͝osˈtäf yōhänˈəs kīˈzər [key], 1853–1940, German physicist. He was professor at Bonn from 1894 to 1920. He is known for his work in sound and...

Caine, Hall

(Encyclopedia)Caine, Hall (Sir Thomas Henry Hall Caine), 1853–1931, English novelist. Secretary to Dante Gabriel Rossetti, he lived with him from 1881 until the poet's death and wrote Recollections of Rossetti (1...

Talbot, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Talbot, Thomas, 1771–1853, Canadian colonist, b. Ireland. He was a soldier and first came to Canada in 1790. In 1800 he left the army and obtained a grant of 5,000 acres (2,023 hectares) on the nort...

Spanish Main

(Encyclopedia)Spanish Main, mainland of Spanish America, particularly the coast of South America from the isthmus of Panama to the mouth of the Orinoco River. Spanish treasure fleets, sailing home from the New Worl...

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