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Hell, Stefan Walter

(Encyclopedia)Hell, Stefan Walter, 1962–, German physicist, Ph.D. Heidelberg Univ., 1990. Hell worked at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg (1991–93) and at the Univ. of Turku in Finland (1...

Mississippi Sound

(Encyclopedia)Mississippi Sound, arm of the Gulf of Mexico, c.100 mi (160 km) long and from 7 to 15 mi (11–24 km) wide, extending from Lake Borgne in Louisiana on the west to Mobile Bay in Alabama on the east. It...

cheetah

(Encyclopedia)cheetah chēˈtə [key], carnivore of the cat family, Acinonyx jubatus, native to Africa and SW Asia as far east as India. Formerly numerous all over their range, they are extinct now in Asia except f...

plastic surgery

(Encyclopedia)plastic surgery, surgical repair of congenital or acquired deformities and the restoration of contour to improve the appearance and function of tissue defects. Development of this specialized branch o...

Smart, Christopher

(Encyclopedia)Smart, Christopher, 1722–71, English poet. A graduate of Cambridge, he lived in London writing poems, editing a humorous magazine, and producing plays. His one great poem, Song to David (1763), an i...

Marquis, Don

(Encyclopedia)Marquis, Don (Donald Robert Perry Marquis) märˈkwĭs [key], 1878–1937, American author, b. Walnut, Ill. In 1912 he began the humorous column “The Sun Dial” in the New York Sun and later conduc...

Tonson, Jacob

(Encyclopedia)Tonson, Jacob tŏnˈsən [key], 1656?–1736, English publisher. He and his brother Richard purchased the publication rights to Milton's Paradise Lost, a transaction later claimed as the firm's most p...

Anderson, Dame Judith

(Encyclopedia)Anderson, Dame Judith, 1898–1992, British actress, b. Adelaide, S. Australia, originally named Frances Margaret Anderson. She made her debut in Sydney in 1915 and by 1924 had become celebrated for h...

lung cancer

(Encyclopedia)lung cancer, cancer that originates in the tissues of the lungs. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States in both men and women. Like other cancers, lung cancer occurs aft...

Bacon, Peggy

(Encyclopedia)Bacon, Peggy, 1895–1987, American illustrator, caricaturist, and etcher, b. Ridgefield, Conn. She illustrated more than 60 books including works by George Ade, Carl Sandburg, and Louis Untermeyer, a...