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Dongting

(Encyclopedia)Dongting or Tungting both: do͝ongˈtĭngˈ [key], shallow lake, Hunan prov., SE China; one of China's largest lakes. It is fed by the Yuan, Zi, Xiang, and many smaller rivers; a canal connects it wit...

Heckel, Erich

(Encyclopedia)Heckel, Erich āˈrĭkh hĕkˈəl [key], 1883–1970, German painter. In 1905, Heckel, together with Kirchner and Schmidt-Rottluff, founded the Brücke in Dresden. His paintings of this period (e.g., ...

Sigillaria

(Encyclopedia)Sigillaria sĭjĭlârˈēə [key], genus of fossil club moss allied to Lepidodendron, abundant in the Carboniferous period. The thick trunk was rarely branched and was covered for several feet from th...

Basile, Giovanni Battista

(Encyclopedia)Basile, Giovanni Battista jōvänˈnē bät-tēsˈtä bäsēˈlā [key], 1575–1632, Italian writer. Basile held several important official positions, devoting his spare time to the study of folklore...

Camagüey, city, Cuba

(Encyclopedia)Camagüey, city (1995 est. pop. 295,000), capital of Camagüey prov., E Cuba. The island's third most populous city, Camagüey, is a leading hub of rail, road, and air transport as well as an importan...

Windham, William

(Encyclopedia)Windham, William wĭnˈdəm [key], 1750–1810, British politician. Elected to Parliament in 1784, he was a friend of Edmund Burke, whom he assisted in the impeachment of Warren Hastings. He served (1...

Blair, James

(Encyclopedia)Blair, James, 1656–1743, Church of England clergyman, missionary to colonial Virginia, and founder of the College of William and Mary, b. Scotland. At the request of the bishop of London, Blair trav...

Chinese architecture

(Encyclopedia)Chinese architecture, the buildings and other structures created in China from prehistoric times to the present day. Since the late 19th cent. the Chinese have adopted European architectural styles....

Beethoven, Ludwig van

(Encyclopedia)Beethoven, Ludwig van lŭdˈwĭg văn bāˈtōvən, Ger. lo͝otˈvĭkh fän bātˈhōfən [key], 1770–1827, German composer. He is universally recognized as one of the greatest composers of the West...

Persian literature

(Encyclopedia)Persian literature, literary writings in the Persian language, nearly all of it written in the area traditionally known as Persia, now Iran. The 15th cent. period of the second Turko-Tartar invasi...